


Light in the Darkness

by 1The_Quiet_Samurai1



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, But if you follow me you know this already lol, Gay Characters, Lots of fluff though don't worry, M/M, Mind Flare stuff, Panic Attacks, Probably spoilers for both series, Time Travel of course, Young Love, demodogs, mentions of abuse, obviously, swears
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-11-28 01:00:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 38,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18201353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1The_Quiet_Samurai1/pseuds/1The_Quiet_Samurai1
Summary: The Hargreeves kids plus Pogo and Grace, end up time traveling again. To Hawkins, Indiana to the year 1985 of all places. Only God knows why.Turns out they may have a few things in common with a few residents of the town.





	1. Pfft, Who Needs Friends?

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, why hasn't anyone done this yet? Unless I'm just not finding one. Let me know if you find one. I know there's at least one book with both series, but it seems to be just one-shots. I mean like an actual story. Get writing guys!  
> lol
> 
> Anyway, I this bitch is the reason I haven't been updating anything. I've got like six chapters done already. I'm not sure how long it's going to be so once those chapters are posted it may be a while before it's actually complete. You know me, I like nice long stories. :D I just couldn't get this one out of my head and it demanded to be written. So, enjoy a brand new pairing! Seriously I think it works so well.
> 
> ** It's also based on the idea that Five hadn't told his siblings about Dolores (Delores? Eh, ya'll know who it is.)

 

Despite what he tells the media after an, ah hem, _event_ , Reginald Hargreeves wasn’t the most ideal father figure. Truth be told, he was strict and harsh. Well, okay, those were understatements. Yet somehow, despite that, the seven children he’d bought still thought of him as their father. Flaws and all. It makes sense really. He raised them, taught them, and made them who they are today. Or who they were before.

Well, that part didn’t matter.

It was a new time. A new time to start over. To make changes. ‘New year, new me,’ as they say.

The seven children that had grown up and become children again, for once had the weekend off as Reginald went away to a business meeting. Perhaps he was looking into the other children, or perhaps he was getting new equipment- either way, none of the children cared. He was gone. They could finally do their own things. What _they_ wanted to do.

Currently, Vanya was practicing the violin in a surprisingly peaceful state of mind, Klaus and Ben were playing in the yard, Luther was hanging out with Allison, Diego was helping Grace in the kitchen, and Five…

Well…

Five smiled at Grace after snagging a few freshly baked cookies and a glass of milk, and headed up to his room. He set the glass and plate down and quickly locked the door. He took in a deep breath and let it out. Finally he could be alone for once. He oddly felt kind of nervous. He hadn’t been truly alone with her since… Five shook his head to clear out _those_ thoughts. He wouldn’t think of that today. Not today. It was their anniversary after all. He couldn’t flip out today. He couldn’t ruin it.

Five walked over to his closet, and let out a breathless sigh.

“Sorry that took so long. Diego wouldn’t shut up.” Five said as he pulled Dolores out of the closet and sat her on the bed. He would have had chairs, but he didn’t need his family getting nosy. “You look beautiful.” Five stared at her for a while before reaching for a cookie.

“Okay this is weird, even for you.”

Five nearly knocked the plate of cookies and glass of milk onto the floor when he jumped out of his skin. He moved the end table and found Klaus lying on his back underneath his bed. What the fuck?!

“Klaus, what the fuck! Why are you in _my_ room? You scared me half to death!”

“Ha!”

“Klaus!”

“Okay, okay. Don’t get all uptight. I’m hiding from Ben.”

“What.” Five was becoming more and more annoyed with his brother.

“We’re playing hide and seek. There were no rules this time. Makes it more fun.”

“I thought you were outside.”

“Yeah then it started raining. Then I had this idea.”

Of course. Of course it was _Klaus_ ’ _s_ idea to play hide and seek of all games. Fuck.

“And you decided to hide in _my_ room. Why not any of the others? Why mine?” Five said harshly through gritted teeth.

“It’d be the last one he’d think of, duh!”

Duh. Right. Yeah. Nobody would think to hide in Five’s room. Five sighed loudly. He may have told Klaus about being with Dolores. He just didn’t tell him the part about her being… well not human. He didn’t need this today damn it!

“So, I didn’t know you played with dolls bro. I mean, I’m not judging. Everyone has their weird shit. Even you I guess.”

“I don’t- I’m not- Arg! Just get out and don’t tell the others!” Five whisper-shouted.

“Wait a second buddy. Is _this_ Dolores? Dolores is a doll? Now I get it.”

“Get. Out. Now.”

“Fine. Sheesh.” Klaus crawled out from underneath the bed and stood up. He brushed himself off and unwrinkled his clothes. “Klaus nice to meet you.” Klaus stuck a hand out for Dolores. Five whacked it away aggressively and all but pushed Klaus out of his room. Five’s face was hot with anger and annoyance. Of course _Klaus_ had to be the one to find out about this. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Now all of them will know! Klaus sucked at keeping secrets. Five would be rich as hell if he’d been given a nickel for every secret Klaus blurted out like it was nothing. While most of the time it only caused problems, there were a _few_ instances where it helped whatever situation they were in. Few meaning two in this case. The odds of him keeping Five’s deepest secret well… were _not_ good.

He was going to need more than just milk now. Fuck.

Before he could jump to their father’s liquor cabinet, there were three knocks on the door. Fuck.

“What?” Five said rudely. He was mad. Screw manners.

“You okay?”

Vanya. Shit. Klaus probably told her first since she was already up on this floor. He probably hid under _her_ bed right after. Vanya didn’t care quite as much as Five did.

“Yes. I’m fine. Please go away.” Five looked over at Dolores. Hey, he said please.

“Are… you sure? It’s just…” Vanya hesitated. “Klaus said-”

“Fuck Klaus okay, half the things he says are bullshit.” Five’s voice shook a little at the end of the sentence. There was a strange feeling at the pit of his stomach. He hated lying to Vanya. He felt closer to her more than the others. Lying just… it felt wrong with her. But he didn’t want to talk about… _this_. Not this. This was his thing. _His_.

“That may be true. A lot of the time. But he sounded genuine this time. And well… Diego and Luther mentioned um, seeing you with- her. At times. When we were older. Well, the rest of us. In the other time line.” Vanya said awkwardly. Fuck Klaus. Fuck Diego and Luther. Fuck, fuck… fuck.

Five swallowed, a strange lump having formed in his throat. Why did he feel like this all of a sudden? That feeling in his stomach grew more intense. His face felt hot for a different reason. He swallowed again.

God this was…

Embarrassing. He was embarrassed. Right. Five space jumped to his bed and buried his face in his pillow. There was no reason to fucking _cry_ over this shit. So they knew. So they thought he was… what, crazy? Insane? Mentally ill? Fucking teenage body. That’s what needed help. His mind was fine okay?! Perfectly fine.

“Five?”

He didn’t answer her. He braced himself for whatever judgments would be thrown his way. But he knew it’d still hurt because it’d be coming from his family. Five held back a sob. They couldn’t see him like this.

“Five, hey.”

Luther. Shit. The others were here too weren’t they? Five didn’t turn to look. He couldn’t. He’d rather be suffocated by the pillow he was currently crying into. He felt a hand on his shoulder and grew tense. The hand retreated. Five didn’t like to be touched no matter what situation he was in. He never really knew why, he just didn’t like it. He had a bubble around him. People didn’t get to pop it.

“We’re not judging you. Klaus told us what you told him. We get it. Hell we probably would have done the same thing. You were a twelve year old kid stuck in an impossible situation, all alone. We just want you to know you can talk to us about stuff. Any of us. You may be fifty-eight, but everyone needs it once in a while.” Luther finished and let Five take in the information.

Fucking, sentiment. Five felt the tears fall faster into the soaked spots on the pillow. Somehow his siblings didn’t judge him. They _understood_. Well kind of. As best they could considering they were never there themselves.

“Five… can you look at us?”

Five didn’t respond. He couldn’t look. Not when he was crying his ass off like a baby over something that seemed so trivial.

“If you don’t you’ll get smothered in a group hug.”

“Okay!” Five snapped, but there was no harshness to his voice. Just annoyance at best. They all know about his touch issues. “Okay.” He sighed. Five slowly turned his head and tried to brace himself for their expressions.

They were smiling. Each one of them. Some were more of a sad smile, but sad at the fact that he was crying probably. They weren’t judging, it was like Luther said. Five felt an emotion he couldn’t understand at first build up in his chest. But then he realized that it was love. The love he’d always had for them. His family. They’d never intentionally hurt him. He gave a smile in return, but it was most likely strained from his mess of emotions. Once again, fuck this body.

Then again, he’ll admit that _maybe_ it’s not all his body’s fault. Maybe.

Five spent the rest of the evening, and most of the night thinking. He couldn’t sleep anyways, no matter what he tried. Too busy thinking. Thinking of his siblings. Dolores. How he felt so embarrassed about her. How the others didn’t judge him like he’d feared. How they _understood_ to an extent. The apocalypse that was no longer a threat, but still in his mind. There were days when he didn’t think of it all, being distracted in some way. Most of the time he was with his siblings, or at least one of them. He wanted to bond more with them. Now that they had the time. He wanted to be a kid again. Adulthood sucked. Even without the apocalypse. He knew that much from his siblings. Among comments from other people, random strangers on the street. Five knew that he couldn’t really act like a kid again. Not after everything. After aging, then de-aging. Suffering through the apocalypse alone. His mind was fucked. He knew that. If there was one right thing that Reginald had told him, it was that time travel messed up the mind.

Thinking of the apocalypse always made him hungry. There were tons of days when he was starving. What with there not really being any food around. He ate fucking _bugs_ when he could sometimes. Just so he could eat. Knowing he had plenty of food in the kitchen, Five decided to screw sleep, and make a sandwich. God he’d missed sandwiches in the end of times. People take everything for granted. Five at least learned how to _not_ do that. It was literally the only good thing about the whole situation.

Five glanced into the room Grace stayed in for the night, he didn’t feel like talking about why he was up. She didn’t know about anything. She thought things were just the way it’d always been. Five envied her in that aspect. She had always been like that. Not really reacting too much, given that she was a robot and all. Still, Five did view her as his mother, like the other kids. He loved her just the same.

He quietly walked towards the fridge and grabbed the sandwich ingredients.

“Midnight snack?”

“Fuck!”

Five dropped the butter knife and it landed with a sharp clatter. He shot a glare towards Luther, then a cautious one towards Grace. She hadn’t moved. Good. He turned back to Luther and gave a more menacing glare.

“Why are you guys bent on freaking me out?” Five complained as he picked up the knife. He put it in the sink and grabbed a new one. He sighed and continued with his sandwich.

“Heh, sorry.” Luther at least looked sheepish. Klaus had not. He hadn’t gave a fuck. Well, in his defense, he almost never did anymore.

“I was just seeing if you were okay. You know, after… yesterday.” Luther shrugged but looked cautious. Five glanced at him and frowned.

“I am, I just…” Five muttered. That weird feeling he got when he lied to Vanya came back. Guess he hated lying to any of his siblings.

Guilt. _That_ _’s_ what that was. Right.

Fuck.

He finished making the sandwich and sat down at the table in his chair. Luther got himself a glass of milk and sat down in his spot. Luther didn’t press him for answers. Five eyed him suspiciously, but stopped after realizing that Luther really wasn’t going to say anything else. The two sat there in silence for a few minutes. Five was almost done eating when Luther finally spoke up.

“You know Diego made fun of me for never being in a relationship?”

Five nearly choked on the last bite. What the hell was this? Luther got him a glass of water, which he all but chugged.

“Easy man, don’t wanna puke.” Luther said with amusement.

“Glad me almost dying amuses you. Also where the hell is this going?” Five didn’t like it. Relationships with real people… were never his thing. Not that he had the time. He had Dolores anyway.

Who was a doll. Literally. A slightly sick feeling emerged in the pit of his stomach. Surely that was because he chugged the water right after nearly choking.

“Just that I get it. Being alone. Granted, I wasn’t alone for nearly as long as you, but long enough. The moment I could I tried to well… find someone. And then the whole time travel thing happened and we’re here. But, I still decided to go out and make friends. Friends that were my own. Not my siblings. They don’t seem to care about my power or how we live. It’s strange, but I like it. The others, they seem to be fine with having their siblings as their friends. I wasn’t. Not as much anyway.”

“What’s the point in telling me this?”

“My _point_ , is that maybe you should try it. Look, Five, I know you feel out of place. Even with us. I know you get lonely when we do our own things. I see it, don’t bother lying. I see it, because I was there. We all have been there. I know none of us can _truly_ fit in, but if you’re lucky you’ll find people that don’t care. They’re out there. You just have to look.”

“Hm, yeah, no thanks. I’m good.” Five sighed. He knew this was coming. This whole talk of _friendship_. He never knew which sibling, or parent, it would come from. But he knew it’d come. But… Luther was right about him. Even if he didn’t want to admit it. He was lonely. He felt like an outcast sometimes even when he was with them. All because of that damn apocalypse. Luther chuckled.

“I figured. Just think about it. I take it you’ve been doing that anyway. Might as well be about something good. Night Five.” With that said, Luther went back upstairs to bed.

Fuck. Alone again, Five cleaned his plate and knives, and went back upstairs. He cast one more glance at Grace, who still hadn’t moved, and carried on. If he’d have kept his gaze on her, he would have seen her turn her head towards him and give a loving, knowing, smile.

* * *

 

“Ten dollars and fifty-five cents please.” The cashier said in a way too happy voice. Five gave her the money, took his bag of snacks and left the store. Some people were _too_ happy. He didn’t like them. As he walked, the crisp air making him shiver, he noticed some kids around his age across the street. He didn’t know who they were, but for some reason he stopped. He watched as they laughed and walked along. They wore uniforms so they were from a private school.

 _“Just think about it.”_ Luther’s words kept him there. Watching slightly curiously about the other kids. He swallowed nervously as he took a small step towards them. He stopped.

What the fuck was he doing? He blinked a few times and carried on his way home. Just think about it his ass. Why would he want friends outside of the Academy? It’s not like _he_ _’d_ find anyone that didn’t care about how he clearly didn’t fit in anywhere. He wasn’t like Luther. He couldn’t just… go up to them. Five told himself it was because he was busy at the moment (which really wasn’t all that true,) and that he wasn’t about to waste time with people that would _never_ understand him. He swallowed. No one would understand. He’d never find anyone like Luther apparently did. He swallowed again, as his eyes started to sting.

Fuck. Not _here_ , in _public_ for fuck sake!

Five turned into an ally and took in a deep breath and let it out. _Calm down stupid. No need to cry. There_ _’s no need. There’s no- fucking stop!_ Five kept taking in deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. This was so stupid! Why was he getting worked up over this? It was just some random kids!

Kids who had a childhood. A normal one. Kids who had friends. Kids who most likely would not want to be _his_ friend.

“Fuck.” Five sighed.

Why would a kid in this day and age want to be friends with someone as messed up as him? A person that lived in a fucking apocalypse practically his whole life, and never had anyone but himself.

He space jumped home onto his bed. The bag of snacks fell onto the floor. His breaths came and went at a much faster pace than before. His tears came down in rivers. Why the hell was he like this? What was this?

He knew what it was. He just didn’t want to admit it. He just had to calm down is all. Just calm down.

He couldn’t calm down. He tried. He wanted it to stop. But his body began shaking uncontrollably. He’d been lucky to have jumped back home when he did. He didn’t want to have some stranger noticing and worrying. Asking questions. Five let out a sob that he wasn’t prepared for. He never _sobbed_. Well, okay. Not often.

Just make it stop.

_Knock, knock, knock!_

God not now. Not now. Five opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. No words anyway. He buried his face when all that came out were sobs.

“Five?!” Klaus’ voice practically shouted. Five heard the other boy enter the room and close the door, for once. His footsteps walked towards the bed and he felt the other boy leaned on the bed. The bed was small so there wasn’t much room for him to sit. But that was fine. Five didn’t want him there anyway. He wanted to panic alone.

“Hey, Five. It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re not alone.”

Not- of course he was. Maybe not in the way Klaus implies, but he was. Klaus didn’t get it. But Five found that he was finally calming down after Klaus’ had started talking. Now he was just rambling about random things. He tended to- speak his mind- to put it nicely. Eventually Five managed to calm down. He slowly rolled over onto his back and sighed.

“Um… thanks.” he said quietly.

“Sure. I found that it helped to have someone talk and distract you from it.”

Five looked at him with surprise. Oh, wait. That’s right. He’d gotten himself wrapped up in a war. Plus he used to be super afraid of his power. Of the dead. Five nodded.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Klaus asked. Five shook his head. His face felt hot. What was he embarrassed about now? The whole thing? Or just the… other… thing?

“Okay. You don’t have to. Talking’s not for everyone. Hey, can I… tell you about Dave?”

Five blinked. “Who the hell is Dave?”

Apparently Dave had been Klaus’ true love. Five felt his heart go out for Klaus when he talked about his death. He tried his best to comfort him at that part, but in all honesty, comforting people was not a skill Five possessed. But he didn’t want Klaus to be sad. So with body becoming slightly tense, Five reached out and put a hand on Klaus’ wrist. He got the weird feeling he got when touching people, but he put up with it. For Klaus. Klaus paused in his story, but smiled. He didn’t say anything about it. The smile was enough. Five never realized just how much trauma Klaus went through with that war. He knew wars were traumatizing, yes, but he supposed he never put much thought into it. Never having experienced actual war. He’d been an assassin of sorts, but never in an actual war. He listened quietly as Klaus chatted on and on. He never got bored or stopped paying attention. It was actually an interesting story. Plus it was his brother. He was talking about a loved one. Despite his tendencies to be rude, Five respected loved ones and respected them when they were being serious. Klaus said that he probably would have liked Dave. They all would have. He was a good person.

Five debated throughout the story on whether or not to ask Klaus for advice. Even Klaus had a friend outside of family. More than a friend. A lover. A human one at that. Five swallowed the thoughts away. He didn’t want to get worked up again. Not so soon after the last one.

Soon the story was finished and Klaus ran out of words.

“Dave seems like a great guy.” Five manages to say. Klaus nodded and gave a sad smile.

“Yeah, he is. Was. Whatever.”

“Did you tell him about… us?”

“Yeah. Felt like I could tell him anything and he’d never judge me.”

“Wow.” Five muttered quietly.

Sounds… really great, actually. To have someone like that. Five swallowed. Klaus eyed him carefully as he stared at the ceiling. Klaus’ expression was almost calculating in a way. He was trying to read Five. But, Five was always hard to read. Even when he wasn’t trying. It was just a natural thing with him.

_“Just think about it.”_

“You’ll find someone. I know you will.”

Five snorted. “Yeah. Sure. _Me_.” There was no _way_ -

“Five-”

The lights flicked violently and then went out. Shit, really? Both boys sighed. Suddenly there were flashes of light coming from outside. It wasn’t lightning.

“Guys! Get out here, now!” Luther’s voice rang through the hallway as his footsteps ran past the room. Five and Klaus shot up and ran after him.

Five gasped as he and Klaus stepped outside. There was another portal. Five didn’t do it though. He wasn’t using his power. So who or what was?

“Guys get back.” Five shouted over the cracking of the portal. “Trust me when I say that I’m not the one doing this!” he glanced back at the others, and realized that Grace and Pogo were there as well. Shit. They were in danger! He and the other kids could at least defend themselves. Pogo and Grace didn’t have any powers.

Suddenly without warning, a strong wind picked up. Five heard everyone scream, but before he could do anything-

Everything went black.

 


	2. Fuck, Not Again!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five panics, hides his issues, Luther tries to be a good older brother for once because honestly fuck the attitude he had in the actual show, the gang figure out where they landed, and things get... strange from there.  
> Heh. Sorry not sorry for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to post chapter 2 because holy fuck ya'll are awesome! 38 kudos in two days? Like what the hell? I didn't think it was THAT good, but what do you know, it is! I'm so happy people are liking this!  
> Anyway, I am doing a little rewriting for this story, so the next few chapters may not be out for a while, we'll see. :D I won't keep you waiting too, too long though. Hopefully a week at most. I got some new ideas so I was like, hm... that's better what I have now... so yeah lol. You know how it is with fan fiction.  
> So without further ado, enjoy chapter two!  
> \---  
> ***** WARNING: Five has a legit panic attack. Readers beware.

 

To say that he was frustrated was a bit of an understatement. He thought he was done with time traveling, at least for the time being. He didn’t want to get stuck anywhere again. But here he was. At least he wasn’t alone this time. This time, he and his siblings, oh and apparently Grace and Pogo, great, had traveled through a portal that had opened without Five doing anything. This literally wasn’t his fault this time.

Now he and his family laid there on the ground, in a dark forest. A forest of all places. They probably had a few miles before reaching any town. If any existed. God he hoped this wasn’t an apocalypse again. He couldn’t do it a second time. Even _if_ he wasn’t alone. He sighed and sat up slowly. After seeing that he had no injuries that he knew of, he checked on his family. Most were beginning to wake up now.

As soon as he gets this branch out of his left side…

Five grunted quietly as he pulled the wood. Fucking bitch. It was deep. Fuck… it wasn’t big though. Just a hole about the size of a Canadian loony. A deep hole. In his side. He’ll never look at loonies the same way again. Fuck coins.

Five quickly got on his knees- he held back a yell. He glanced back at his family- they were still out, but coming to, he had to work fast. Shit. He grabbed his tie and thanked whatever the hell was up there that it was long enough to wrap around his waist. He made sure to cover the wound and tied it tightly. He winced as the pain spread throughout his body. He could fix this later. It was irrelevant right now. Holding back grunts of pain, he slowly stood up. God time travel was a bitch.

“Goodness, is everyone alright?” Grace asked and began checking each of them for injuries. Everyone gave a variation of “yes”, and Five immediately began walking.

“Whoa, Five where you going?” Luther called. Five heard the rest run after him.

“To figure out where we are, duh!”

“Okay, but-”

“But what? That’s what we have to do. I’m not just gonna sit around and wait for someone to come and get me.”

“Yeah, but would ya slow down? We should regroup after something like that! You’re the only one that time traveled.” Luther replied. Klaus coughed. “Oh. Sorry Klaus. You _and_ him are the only ones that time traveled. The rest of us haven’t. We need time to digest this whole thing.”

Five stopped and turned to face Luther. He looked angry.

“Yeah once we figure out where we are. Look the edge of the forest. I’m trying to make sure we’re not in immediate doom! I wasn’t the one that did this. Not this time. Someone or something else did. How or why, I have no idea. So I want to figure that out!”

Luther stared at him for a while. Five’s breaths were sharp and angry. His hands were shaking. Fuck. Why hadn’t Luther seen it? He was probably having a panic attack or getting up to that point. The fact that he wasn’t the one to transport them probably freaked him out.

“We will. But first you _need_ to calm down. We’re all here this time. Not just you. You’re not alone. Just breathe, Five. Breathe.” Luther said calmly. He slowly walked up to Five, who looked a little worse than he did a few moments ago. The attack was settling in. Shit! “We’re right here. You’re not at the apocalypse.”

Five tried to focus on Luther, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t breathe! He couldn’t… He blinked and suddenly he was back. Dust and ash filled his nose. The heat was almost too much. Everyone was gone. Just gone. Dolores wasn’t even there. He had _no one!_ There was nothing- there-

“Look at me Five.”

Who said that? No one’s here! Great, he’s going insane.

“Five, Five. It’s me. Just me.”

Who?!

Five tried to speak but it came out in uneasy sputters of syllables.

“It’s me, Luther. I’m _here_. You’re not in the apocalypse! We’re all here buddy. Listen to my voice.”

 Luther? Luther was here? But he… wait… Five blinked again. Luther was there. In front of him. How did he get on the ground? Was he leaning against a tree? Wait. Five blinked again, and now he and Luther were in a forest. Weird. But okay. He was right, they weren’t _there_. They were somewhere else completely.

“Five. Do you see me? Do you hear me?” Luther asked. He was close, kneeling just a foot away from him. Not touching him. They knew better than to touch him. Good. Five tried to take in a few breaths, but they were still quick and uneven. Luther was here. Luther wasn’t gone. He was here. Five nodded twice, answering both of his questions.

“Good, good. Just focus on me. We’re _all_ safe. Me, Klaus, Diego, Vanya, Allison _and_ Ben. Even Pogo and Grace are here. We’re _safe_ Five. We’re okay.”

Luther kept talking calmly, and the others slowly walked up and stood just behind him. Five saw them. They _were_ here. Like Luther said. He tried taking in a few deep breaths. They came a little bit slower this time. Not normal, but better. He could kind of breathe again. He was okay. They all were okay. The apocalypse was prevented, that’s right. They stopped it. They did it! Five closed his eyes and focused on slowing down his breathing. After a while it finally became normal. Fucking hell, he’d just panicked in front of the others. Now they knew. They were going to get worried. They had _enough_ to worry about here. Wait.

That’s right. They were in another place. They had to figure out where, or when or whatever. Were they even in their own universe still? God only knew that one probably.

“Five, you okay now?” Luther asked cautiously. Five opened his eyes to see his relaxed, yet concerned state of being. He nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, I… thanks Luther.”

“Yeah. I’m always there for you. We all are. That’s what family does.” Luther said. He reached out a hand and Five grabbed it, pulling himself up. That was the first time it’d happened in front of the others. They looked surprisingly calm. Worried, obviously, but calm. Maybe they had expected something like this. Knowing what he’d been through.

He hadn’t given details really, just that it was an apocalypse and he’d be alone for a long time until the Commission. He kept most details to himself. Not ready to talk about it with anyone just yet. He wiped his sweaty hands on his pants. He took in a deep breath and let it out, a little bit shaky, but all in all okay. He wiped the remaining tears from his face, just realizing that he’d been crying. He needed to get his shit together and figure out where they were. Or when.

“Okay.” he sighed. “Okay, I’m good.”

“Good!” Klaus piped up. “I know you hate people touching you, but can I hug you?”

Five was about to say no, but something in Klaus’ eyes made him hesitate. He sighed quietly. “Fine. But only for a second and no longer.” Klaus beamed and instantly lunged at him, wrapping his smaller arms around him tightly. He held back flinches at the pain. He was a professional at hiding injuries. His body also grew tense at the touch. He didn’t really know why he didn’t like people touching him. He just didn’t. Then he realized that Klaus wasn’t letting go. Ugh. Klaus. His side hurt like a bitch now.

“Klaus. It’s been about five seconds.”

“I’m not letting go until you hug me back.”

Fucking- Klaus was pretty stubborn in his own way. This was one of those times. Five closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Hesitantly he wrapped his own arms around Klaus. Although it was slightly awkward, Five never really knew where to put his arms. He rarely got hugged because of his touch issues. This was way too out of his comfort zone. Not to mention the fucking _pain_ -

“Okay there. You happy?”

“Yep.”

A pause. Klaus still wasn’t letting go. Five frowned and was getting frustrated with him.

“Klaus.”

“A few more seconds? You never-”

“KLAUS.”

Klaus let go, but with a huff and started pouting. Fucking pouting. Luther, looking a little amused, the bastard, patted Klaus’ shoulder. In fact, everyone looked amused. Fuck that. Five turned around and started walking again. Klaus ran up and matched his pace. Fuck. For some reason Klaus tended to want to be with him. Well, Ben being his first choice, but Five was his second. Again, for _some reason_. Klaus was a mystery most days. Luther also matched their pace on his other side. Couldn’t he be alone for _one_ second? He wasn’t a glass object ready to be broken at any second.

“So,” Klaus spoke after a few minutes of silence. “Where do you think we are? Or when? You think the Internet is around? That’d be lucky.”

“Klaus.”

“Yeah?”

“Please stop talking.”

“Oh…”

Five barely winced as his side let out a jolt of pain. Irrelevant. He would deal with it _later_.

Klaus was obviously disappointed. Five swallowed. He was frustrated. Frustrated with this situation yes, but mostly just frustrated with himself. It’s no secret that Five has… issues. Not just with touch or panic attacks. The latter of which hadn’t been an issue until the apocalypse thank you very much. Fucking apocalypse… But he had other issues. One was a lack of patients. He could never _wait_ long enough. He’s tried several times in his life, but never could quite make that time limit. Sometimes it got him into trouble. Sometimes it _caused_ the trouble. Such as time traveling when he really hadn’t been ready like he thought. Or unintentionally screwing up a mission. Reginald would give him punishments for doing such stupid things like that.

Issue number two: his attitude. He knew he was rude most of the time. He knew the others hated that. He _knew_ he should treat others better. Treat his own family better. He tries. He does. Somehow… it never works out for him. It’s like he was programmed to be the egotistic bastard, just second after Reginald. He did love his family, even if he had trouble showing it. He was quick to anger as well, which was a problem.

Issue three: words. He’s never been able to word things properly. He’s smarter, which means he tends to use bigger words. Ones his siblings quite often don’t understand right away. There’s also a clear lack of communication with all seven of them. Reginald wasn’t the best role model. Five knew that, but that only meant that his kids weren’t exactly the best role models either. Five knew he wasn’t for sure. The only thing people would ever look to him for was his smarts. For him to figure out the right answers. That… that was it. Five didn’t exactly have anything else going for him. Just his knowledge of… everything really. Too bad that didn’t include bonding with people. Five swallowed.

_Just think about it._

Like he had a choice.

He subconsciously reached his right hand over to his side.

The universe made the choice for him. He was to be alone, with the company of his family. He wasn’t _meant_ to have outside friends despite whatever Luther thinks. Despite what any of them think. Five was just too… messed up in the head. He swallowed, and blinked back tears. He needed a distraction. Or coffee. Or alcohol. Either one would do.

“Hey look, a house!” Klaus said loudly. The gang stopped, and Five looked to where his brother was pointing, and sure enough, there it was. Just sitting there, somewhat ominously. Something was off about the air in this world. Five couldn’t quite place what it was though. Just… something. The house looked ordinary enough. Big, with a big area around it. Homely. There were a couple of bikes sprawled out in the driveway, indicating that there were at least two kids in it. There were no cars, and no garage so there weren’t any adults there as far as they knew. But they shouldn’t take any chances.

Before he could do anything though, the others started walking towards it. Five space jumped in front of them.

“What are you doing?”

“Gonna go ask for help? Find out where or when we are?” Luther said like it was obvious. Which it was, but that wasn’t the point.

“We don’t know who lives there. If anyone at all.”

“Yeah, so we have to check it out.”

“And who said that? What if they’re dangerous?”

“Have you _met_ us?”

“Luther!”

“Five.”

They had a staring contest. Klaus backed away towards the others, not wanting to get involved.

“We _need_ to find help Five. Help could be in there. I’m going, and you’re not gonna stop me.”

Luther started walking again and Five grabbed his shirt collar. Luther have him a hard look. Five wished that he could do something to change his mind. Anything. Something wasn’t right in this world. Something was off. Five didn’t think the others could feel it though, so he’d have to have proof. But they couldn’t just walk into this world without _some_ kind of plan! He knows Luther’s smart, and probably does have a plan. But it’s probably not the greatest plan. Five cursed himself for never being able to say what’s on his mind. It was one thing he envied about Klaus. He just couldn’t shut up, but Five was always shut. Stuck with never finding a key to the door.

“Five.” Luther said as calmly as he could. “I’m stronger.” Five tightened his grip, but didn’t say anything. He couldn’t for some reason. Something in Luther’s expression changed, but Five couldn’t name that either.

“Five… We’re gonna be okay.” Luther said with a nod. Five didn’t reply but blinked away threatening tears. God why was he so messed up? It’s like he couldn’t handle anything.

“I know you don’t like it. But we _need_ to find help. The next town could be an hour away. It’s getting dark, and kind of cold. I have a plan. Just let someone else figure things out for once okay? You’re not alone here. We’re not going anywhere without you. You’ll never be alone again unless you truly want it.”

_Never. Please. Never leave._ His mind betrays him. But he never speaks it. He never could. Luther must have seen something in his eyes though.

“We’d never leave you alone.” he said again. His voice was quiet and calm, reassuring. Five swallowed and blinked a few times, his eyes stung. He tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

Suddenly someone lunged at him, and wrapped their arms around him.

He tried to ignore the horrid pain in his side.

Five fully expected it to be Klaus again, but was surprised to see Ben instead. Ben looked up at him with his big brown eyes. His big brown _tear filled_ eyes. Five let go of Luther, but didn’t really know what to do. He was lost. He hated being lost. He hated being useless. It made him sick to the stomach. Ben gave a sad smile, and Five wished it weren’t so sad looking. He hated it when Ben cried. Well, when either of his siblings cried. Even Luther, though it was rare that he _saw_ it. Like Five. It was one thing they had in common. Stubbornness, and bottled up emotions. Five looked down at Ben. He’d always been so small compared to the rest of them. Made him look younger than he was. He was thirteen like them, but he looked like he was nine or eight. Or six when he was upset. Like now. Five swallowed again.

God damn it his side- how deep was the-

“I’m not letting go until you hug back.” Ben said shakily with a sniff. He heard Luther snort and hold back a laugh. Bastard. Fucking… ugh.

“Klaus is a bad influence on you.” Five managed to stutter out. A few tears fell as he tried to blink them away.

“Hey!” Klaus’ voice came from behind him, which was weird. Wasn’t he-

Five felt Klaus wrap his own arms around both of them. Oh. That’s why. He should have known that. Damn feelings getting in the way of everything. Five hated group hugs. But… occasionally he’d do it for his siblings. Occasionally. Today was one of those occasions apparently. Ugh. After a while they let go, and the tears dried up. Thank God.

“Hm…” Allison suddenly said. She’d been strangely quiet for a while now that Five thought about it. “I heard a rumour that someone came to help us.”

Fuck.

“Allison-” Five never got to finish.

_CLICK!_

That was the sound of a gun. Fuck. Allison said _help!_ Guess she had to be more specific.

They turned to see a boy no older than them, fourteen at the most, with messy brown hair, big brown eyes, and eighties style clothing. He held up a _gun_ and gave them a seriously threatening glare. Five noticed a bike just behind him. Fuck. Where the hell were they?

“Who the hell are you, why did you come from the woods, and what are you doing here?” the boy asked. His voice shook slightly, giving away a false act of bravery. He was just scared. Five saw it in his eyes as they flickered to each member of the group.

“That’s not a great way of greeting people.” Five finally said. The kid’s eyes narrowed.

“Answer me!”

“Okay! But first, where are we, and what year is it?”

“What?”

“Look, we can do twenty questions, but I need to know.”

“Fine.” The kid didn’t lower the gun. “Hawkins, Indiana. 1985.”

Ah. That’s where they were.

Fuck.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, as I've said the next few won't be out for a while. But unlike my other stories, (sheepish apologetic giggle) I won't keep you waiting too long.  
> As always, don't be afraid to write an essay review (a very long one lol) I love those. :D Love ya, and see you soon!
> 
> Can we make Five/Will a thing please? lol


	3. Bad First Impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five meets Will, and can't shake a strange feeling, Vanya gets pissed off, Klaus is Klaus, and what's this? Luther might be right?

Hawkins, Indiana. 1985.

Great. _Great_. Such a _wonderful_ time period to be stuck in. Really. Five couldn’t be _happier_. His eye twitched. Nothing better than a small town in the fucking eighties! Why the hell would they end up _here_? Of all places!

He held back a flinch as his side pulsed in pain again. Fucking branch. Why did it have to be a _forest_?!

“Who are you?” the kid asked again. His expression faltered briefly, but he masked it just as quickly. His eyes had glanced to Five’s left side. Shit. He knew.

“Could ask you the same thing. But honestly, we don’t mean any harm. We just need to get home.” Five said slowly. He swallowed as the pain grew worse.

_Irrelevant! Deal with it weakling._

“We’re a little lost. Please.” Five continued.

The boy lowered his gun. Finally. Five blinked as his vision briefly became blurry. No. No, no… now.

“What’s wrong?” the boy asked. He looked worried. He put his gun down and walked up to him. Five just shook his head.

“I’m fine. Don’t be stupid.”

“You’re clearly not-”

“Five! What- what the hell!” Luther stood to his right. Shit. Shit- no! It’s irrelevant. Irrelevant. They had to…

Everything went blurry. He heard the others shout, but he couldn’t focus. He felt someone grab him… then nothing.

* * *

_He was alone. The ash filled his lungs. He watched as everything burned. As everything fell apart._

_Dead. They’re dead. Vanya. Klaus. Diego. Allison, Luther… God… no…_

Five gasped as he sat up. Bad idea. He groaned as the pain. It hurt so much. It hurt…

“Five…”

He blinked and he realized he wasn’t alone. No… dream. Oh. It was a dream. Right. Wait. Where was he? Room. Bedroom. Not his bedroom.

“Five.”

Five looked at Vanya who was right beside him on his left. She looked… annoyed. Odd. She usually looked worried whenever someone was hurt. Why… oh. _Oh_.

Five now remembers. He remembers why this isn’t his room. Why this isn’t their home. Why there’s this random _boy_ sitting on his other side. Looking at him with a glare at that. Rude. Five was injured here. Sure maybe they were originally trespassing but come on. Along with him and Vanya was Ben, Klaus and Pogo. Vanya was beside the boy, and Ben and Klaus were on the other side. Pogo stood at foot of the bed.

“You’re _really_ lucky.” The new boy said. He had a bit of an attitude Five didn’t like. Five scoffed.

“Lucky. Honestly, this is nothing. I thought _you_ guys knew that by now. OW! FUCK!” Five yelled as _Vanya_ jabbed him in the ribs. The ribs! His wound was close by! “What the hell Vanya?”

“You _always_ do this!” she said loudly, her voice shaking. Oh, she _was_ upset. Right. Need to fix that.

“Do what?” he said instead.

_Nice one Five. I thought you were smart._

Shut up. Not the time.

“You always hide your injuries. You’re really lucky that Grace and Pogo were here. She’s downstairs by the way, with the others. And be nice to Will. He helped us get you up here after you passed out.” Wait. Hold up. Rewind.

“Just _how_ exactly did _he_ help?” Five asked stiffly. He shot a glare at the boy- Will apparently- who glared back. Now Vanya looked a little sheepish. Five sighed.

“He carried you. Well half of you. Luther carried the rest.” Klaus said. Five looked at him as he realized that was the first time he’d spoken since he woke up. Unusually quiet for him. Not good. That meant something was wrong. That he was upset. That meant Klaus was upset with _him_. Five swallowed. Fuck… He may be a super assassin, but he sure fucked things up with his family. He was trying to _fix_ that. He always screwed things up no matter what. He had to say something.

“You let a stranger touch me?”

_FUCKING_ -

Words were not his strong suit.

“OW! Vanya please!” He thought he saw the new boy smirk. That fucking-

“And you know _before_ I was saying that you were lucky you have a logical guy like Dr. Pogo here to explain things. You’re _also_ lucky that my mom and brother won’t be home until later tonight after work.” Will said. Not without the glare. Five shot him a glare in return as Pogo cleared his throat. Five was starting to really not like this kid. Something just… irked him. Pogo stepped forward and sat at the end of the bed. The look in his eyes made Five forget any retort he had to say to Will.

“They have a right to be worried. We are in a serious situation. It would be honorable to respect the people helping us. It would also be respectable for you to apologize to Will. All he’s done is help.” Pogo said. Five’s eye twitched. Ugh. He didn’t want Pogo upset with him though. Not any more than he already was. Reluctantly Five turned, kind of, and looked at Will. He looked too smug. Five glared. Will narrowed his eyes.

“I’m sorry.” Five said. Of course, he didn’t _mean_ it he- NOPE. He grabbed Vanya’s hand as she reached out with a frown.

“Like you _mean it_. You idiot.” Ben said. Five looked at him and sighed. The things he did for his siblings. Most of them. Sure okay fine. Will did actually help them. (After aiming a gun at them, but guess that didn’t matter.) He helped. He helped…

“I-” Five finally looked back at Will. He looked less smug. Slightly less. “I’m sorry. Really.” Five cleared his throat. “Thanks for the help.” Will smiled. It looked better than the glare to be honest. It made his big brown eyes look nicer. Now that he was actually looking, Will, aside from the eighties clothes, ugh, looked pretty… decent. For a twelve-year-old.

“How much do you know?” Five asked.

“Pretty much everything.” Pogo answered for him. Wait, what? What the fuck?

“Pogo!”

“In all my time I’ve learned that communication can go quite a long way. It helps to know certain things about the people you’re letting into your home.”

Five… couldn’t really argue with that one. He wanted to. Boy did he want to argue. But something told him no. He nodded instead. His side at least felt better. It still kind of hurt (thanks Vanya,) but not as much as before. Maybe they gave him some pain killers. He felt exhausted all of a sudden. Damn emotions and injuries. Five reluctantly leaned back into the pillows. It was pretty comfortable. It kind of smelled nice. Five let his eyes close. He wanted to sleep, but he knew that once he did… Five brushed those thoughts away. Maybe being in a different place would help that. After all they weren’t in their world, were they? They might even be in another _universe_ , one with _no_ apocalypse.

“For now I think it’s best if we let him rest. An event like that takes a lot out of a person. Especially a young one. Come everyone.” He heard Pogo say. He heard the others footsteps move away.

Five shot up, eyes still closed not having the energy to open them, and reached out to grab Vanya. He held onto her shirt tightly.

“Don’t leave me alone…” he said quietly. He felt her hesitate, but she moved back and sat on the bed. Five leaned back and finally let sleep take over. His hand still clutched the sleeve of his sister’s shirt.

* * *

He didn’t have any nightmares while he slept. He didn’t remember dreaming, but it wasn’t nightmares so he didn’t care. It was one of the best sleeps he’d had since they stopped the apocalypse. He vaguely remembered reaching out for Vanya in a moment of weakness, not wanting to be alone. He was aware that his hand was still holding onto her shirt sleeve. Maybe that was why? He wasn’t alone? Usually at the mansion they all went to their own bedrooms. Alone. So that had to be it.

Five didn’t want to wake up. He was just so comfortable. He hadn’t been this relaxed in a long time. The blankets and pillows were so soft. They smelled nice too which was a bonus. They didn’t have a usual sent of cleaner though which was odd. It kind of smelled like the outdoors. But not like the fake scented things, like the _real_ outdoors. Five always liked being outside. Even in the rain. It always calmed him down. Relaxed him. Maybe that was why he had such a good sleep. It made sense. He would have thought he _was_ outside, had it not been for the bed, silence, and lack of a breeze.

Finally he decided to open his eyes and wake up. He expected to see Vanya beside him. She’s who he reached for. He thought it was her. But it wasn’t.

It was Will.

Five looked at him, slightly confused. Will hadn’t noticed he was awake yet. Five took the time to really look at him. He seemed really calm. Relaxed like Five. He was also sketching something, barely moving as Five was still holding on to him. How someone could sit that still for so long was beyond him. Maybe Will was used to it though, as he was drawing. It just looked like a pencil sketch. He noticed an opened box of graphite pencils on the nightstand. On the walls Five only just now noticed a bunch of pictures pinned up. Some looked as though Will had done them at a very young age. Others were more advanced. He was clearly drawing his whole life, or at least, most of it. He was really good. His favourite medium appeared to be graphite since there were more of those than anything else. He was talented at capturing people perfectly. There were quite a few portraits. Probably of people that he knew. He realized that one of those people was Pogo. Wow. It was basically a photograph. Five thought that even Reginald would be impressed with Will’s skill. Probably would have hired him to do family portraits or something. He wondered if Pogo saw it yet.

Wait, how long had he been asleep for? Five hadn’t seen that picture earlier when they were in the room with him.

“Oh, you’re awake.” Will said suddenly, bringing him back. “Want me to get Grace? Pogo’s asleep like the others.”

“No, no. I’m fine. What time is it?” Five asked.

“Um,” Will looked at a clock on the nightstand he hadn’t noticed, “one AM.”

“What?” That long? “Wait why are you still up?”

“You asked for someone to stay and I just lost track of time.”

“Oh. Wait, why you? I thought it was Vanya.”

“She told me to stay after you grabbed me, thinking it was her. You’re going to have to ask her why though because I don’t know.”

It was then Five realized that he was still holding onto Will’s sleeve. He instantly let go and looked away, a wave of embarrassment washing over him. But he did stay, even though Vanya could have taken his place easily. He stayed. He didn’t seem bothered by it either. Vanya was right, he should have been nicer. Will didn’t have to help them, but he did. Well, okay, maybe Allison kind of made him. But he chose to stay after and not turn them in. Five cleared his throat and fidgeted awkwardly.

“Thanks… for staying. You didn’t have to.” he said. Will smiled at him and Five found it hard to look away. The smile made his eyes shine, even though the light was off. He’d never seen anyone do that before.

“I don’t mind. You don’t bite when you’re asleep.”

It was obviously meant to be a joke, but Five felt another wave of embarrassment and looked away. He genuinely felt guilty for how he’d acted. Will hadn’t deserved it. “I am sorry about all that. I’m… I’ve never…” Five stumbled over his words, not use to saying this, “I’ve never really been a… _people_ person.” His eyes narrowed in disappointment. Mostly at himself. “Even with my own family.”

He should have been better. Nicer. But he’d gotten stuck with the narcissistic personality. He didn’t know how to change it. Was that even possible? He was the same even as he got older in the apocalypse. Always thought of himself. Even with the Commission. It’s why Luther was wrong about him. Why he would always be only with family members. Never anyone outside of it. Father had said it was one of his weak points. He was right. It may have actually helped in the apocalypse but in the actual world with people… not so much.

_“You’re weak Number Five. Weak. Your mind may be your strength but it’s also your weakness.”_

Five had never understood it. Not until now. Now that everything was done and over with. Now that he’d lost everything familiar to him in that world. Except his family. But even then… did they really want him around? He’d been a dick to them ever since arriving at dad’s funeral. He’d never apologized for it, and at the time, he never felt ashamed. Now realizing what his father meant… He had _no idea_ what to do about it. How could such a broken family ever accept his apologies? Accept him back just like that?

He felt a hand on his, and looked over at Will. He’d almost forgotten where he was. He’d spaced out again. Got lost in his head. Will big brown eyes looked into his soul. They weren’t as bright as before, but he was giving a smile anyway. He looked like he understood. The moonlight shone through the blinds and illuminated Will’s face. It was ghostly, but… kind of pretty. The light bounced off his eyes and made them shine.

“It’s okay.” Will said gently. “I get it. But for now you should probably just sleep. Leave everything for the morning.” He smiled, and Five began to feel dizzy. It was probably the wound. He must still be tired after all now that Will mentioned sleep. Speaking of whom…

“What about you? I’m using your bed. You should be in it.” Five started to try and get up but Will stopped him. He shook his head.

“Nah it’s okay. You’re already in it and probably shouldn’t move too much. I’ll just take my brother’s bed for now. He’s away on a camping trip with his girlfriend. My mom’s got a night shift too so she won’t be back until the morning. I already called her though, so don’t worry about that.” Will finished with a yawn, the sleep catching up to him. He rubbed at his eyes in a motion that looked… kind of cute. “I should probably go to sleep too.”

Wait. His brother’s bed? In another room? Five suddenly grew tense as Will stood up. Five didn’t want to be left alone. But he barely knew Will, it wouldn’t be right. He can’t. It’d be weird. Five didn’t say anything as Will put the sketchbook and pencil down, and walked towards the door. Five bit his lip hard to bite back a pathetic plead.

_Don’t go. Please! I hate being alone…_

Suddenly Will stopped as if sensing something was wrong. Five looked down at his hands as he turned around, not wanting to be caught in such a weak moment.

_“Weak. Work harder Number Five!”_

“If you want me to stay I-”

“No!” Five said quickly. He caught himself. “No, you should go…I-I’ll be fine. I’m fine.” He couldn’t look up at him. His eyes would probably give everything away. If not his hands probably already did. He gripped the blankets tightly in order to get them to stop shaking. He finally looked up though when Will started laughing quietly. Fucking _laughing_. Five knew he was a fool. Will smiled at him kindly and Five found that his doubts were slowly going away. Of course he’d miss a joke. He wasn’t funny.

“Sorry, I’m not laughing _at_ you. I… it’s just we have a lot more in common than I realized.” Will explained as he walked over to the other side of the bed. Automatically Five moved over as much as he could- it was a single bed, so a tight squeeze. Will was careful not to hurt Five’s wound. As he moved the covers and laid down- the warmth from his body filling his own- the lovely smell from the sheets grew stronger. It surrounded Five and filled his lungs like air. That’s when he realized why it hadn’t smelled like anything artificial. It _wasn’t_. It was literally just _Will_.

“What?” Will asked with a chuckle. “This too weird?” Five realized he’d been staring.

“Oh, no. I just… I…” Five looked away, feeling embarrassed again. His face grew warm, and he was suddenly very thankful for the darkness. “Thanks.” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet. He could see Will smiling, but Five refused to look over as his face was still very warm. Will reached over and gently squeezed his hand. A strange yet comforting warmth spread though his arm. He didn’t move away. That was odd. He never liked it when he was touched.

“I don’t mind.” His voice was soft, and made Five finally look at him. Now that he was closer, he noticed a small amount of freckles that he just barely saw because of the darkness. His eyes looked bigger up close. Five watched as Will turned around and got comfortable. Five stared at him as a memory came flashing back.

_“We have a lot more in common than I realized.”_

Five swallowed. He could never have much in common with someone… normal. Pogo said they explained _everything_ to him. That probably meant their powers, and the apocalypse too. Five suddenly remembered the strange feeling he had when they first arrived in this world. Something felt off. He couldn’t place it. He still can’t really. Something was off about _Will_. He can’t place it either.

_“More in common.”_

With that last thought in his mind, Five turned around and laid on his good side, his back facing Will. He felt really warm. But not the kind of heat he felt in the apocalypse. This heat was welcoming. This heat, it wasn’t harmful or destructive. This was _Will_. A person he’d just met that had done everything he could to help them. Help him. Will didn’t leave when he could have.

_“Just think about it.”_

The memory of Luther’s words rang through his mind. He’d been against it the whole time. He thought he’d never have a chance. That the world made up its mind about him. But now… Five swallowed. He had no clue what caused the portal. He had no clue how to get back. He didn’t know what their purpose here was. How long they’d be staying. But maybe, just maybe-

The world was giving him a chance. Five smiled to himself and decided to focus on the warmth that Will gave him instead of the haunting memories that usually appeared. If Will felt him lean into it, he didn’t say anything. Five decided that maybe he would actually try. His stomach felt queasy with nerves. He wouldn’t know where to start. Math could only go so far for life. Would Will even _want_ to be his friend? What if he got rejected completely? That might… break him. If he were being honest for once.

He yawned suddenly, and felt utterly exhausted. He turned his mind off, and tried to only focus on the warm feelings Will gave him instead of the nervous negative ones. He did actually need sleep. He should, as Will said, leave everything for the morning.


	4. Patients is a Virtue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Vanya teases Five, Five learns more about Will, and he also really needs to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic.
> 
> Too bad it's the eighties and all they had were the toys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It should be noted that this takes place during the summer. Not sure why I forgot this detail. But yes, end of June beginning of July. Similar to at least the start of Stranger Things 3 (EEEP! STRANGER THINGS 3!!! lol Who's fucking excited?!)
> 
> I'm also just going to post whenever I get a chapter done. So no set schedule, even though I probably should have one lol. Pffft, who needs schedules?  
> It's mainly so I don't have to keep you guys waiting... like my other stories that I haven't updated in probably a year. heh, oops. I'll get to them. Some day.  
> \------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
> ****New Note: It's now edited because apparently AO3 took some of my italics and whatnot away when I copied and pasted from a word document. Damn it. I love this site, but sometimes it annoys me. :P lol

Five woke up feeling awake, and actually relaxed. Again, he’d slept well. Really well. The warmth was still there, so was the comforting smell of the outdoors. That meant that Will was still in bed. Five smiled to himself, remembering how Will volunteered to stay despite having the option to leave. Five sure as hell did not deserve that kindness. He lazily looked at the clock on the nightstand. Seven AM on the dot. Wow. Just then he saw Will’s sketchbook from the night before sitting there, open to the page he’d been working on. Five realized he didn’t know what he’d been drawing and took a look.  
It was a sketch of him sleeping. Was that really what he looked like sleeping? He looked… really peaceful. Come to think of it, he remembers feeling very relaxed for the first time in… forever probably. Five smiled again. He had Will to thank for that. Thinking of him, Five turned around and looked at him. He seemed at peace too. The morning sun sneaked though the blinds and cast light on Will’s face. Will suddenly turned onto his back, but stayed asleep. Five remembered what he’d looked like the night before, in the moonlight. The sun was giving a similar effect, but it wasn’t as ghostly looking. It was still pretty. Looking at his sleeping form, Five noticed that Will was much better than _decent_ as he’d thought the night before.  
_Knock, knock._  
The door quietly opened, and Vanya poked her head through. Five smiled at her, which she returned, and carefully entered the room and closed the door. She brushed some of her long hair aside, and Five pulled his legs up so she could sit on the bed.  
“Sleep well?” she asked, glancing at Will.  
“Yeah, actually. Really well. Um, one question though. Why did you ask him to stay?” Five tilted his head as Vanya smiled.  
“I figured it would help you guys bond and get to know one another. I know Luther’s been trying to get you to expand beyond us. He means well, but I don’t know if he realizes that it’s harder for others. It took me a really long time to get used to it. He dragged me along to meet some of his friends back home. I just wanted out of the house for once. It was hard, but I know he just wanted me to be happy. It’s the same for you. Will seems really nice. Maybe this is why we came here. For another new start.”  
Five looked at her for a while as he considered her words. He knew she was right. Both her and Luther. But he couldn’t help but think there was another reason as well, something they hadn’t found yet. Maybe it was a new start, but then what about the weird feeling he got about the world and Will? Something still wasn’t right, and Five was going to figure out what it was sooner or later.  
Preferably sooner.  
“Yeah, I guess that makes sense.” Five said anyway. He did agree with Vanya. But there was also more to it than that. “Thanks.” He hated how quiet his voice was, but Vanya smiled anyway. Out of all his siblings he felt the closest to her even though she never really bonded with any of them. Even him. Reginald made it hard for her to do so. She was kept away from them most days. He wondered just how lonely she felt. He would glance at her from time to time during training and see how sad she looked. How she longed to be one of them or just accepted. He wished he’d have done something differently with her. Sneaked into her room or something to befriend her. It would have been easy considering his power. Why didn’t he _do it?!_  
“You okay?” Vanya asked. He spaced out again. He looked at her, her eyes concerned. She’d always cared about them. Why didn’t they do more to show they cared about her? Well, now they could. They could all do better.  
“I just wish we could have done more to be with you. That _I_ could have done more. We should have. I should have. He was abusing you more than any of us. Shutting you out because he was just afraid. I- I should have- could have-” his voice became shaky.  
“Hey, hey. I’m okay. I will be okay.” Vanya said. She stood up and walked the few steps towards him and hugged him gently, but tightly. He was still injured after all. No need to make it worse. Five realized that he’d started crying. He hugged Vanya back, despite the familiar feeling he got when people touched him. This was Vanya. She was different. He never wanted to push her away, not again. She’d always been there for him. Pogo told him how she’d leave the lights on and make sandwiches, peanut butter, his favourite, and leave them out for him. In case he suddenly returned. He hated how he just left her. Left her with him, and the loneliness.  
“I know you guys cared. Still care. And I love you for it. I don’t blame you. I blame him.” Vanya said as they pulled apart. She gently wiped some of his tears away. They were coming down less and less now. He sniffed and Will suddenly turned in his sleep. Five almost forgot he was even there. His hand reached out and landed on his own. It was as if he sensed something was wrong and wanted to help. Vanya smiled and let out a quiet giggle. Five couldn’t help the smile on his face. He decided to be nicer to Will, not rude and brash like he was when they first arrived. Vanya suddenly smirked, which was strange for her. But he had to admit it looked good. That was good…  
For her. He realized it might not be so good for _him._  
“What?” Five asked cautiously.  
“You’re not pushing him away. You hate it when others touch you. That _must_ mean he’s special.”  
Five felt his neck start to get warm at what she was implying. He cleared his throat quietly, so he didn’t wake Will, and gently moved his hand. She was right. Will was… different at least. And he’d promised himself to be kinder to him. But that didn’t mean he had to endure the fucking teasing.  
“Or it just means that I need coffee.”  
Vanya snorted. “Uh huh. I’ll ask Joyce if she can help me make some.”  
“Joyce?”  
“Will’s mom. She really nice. And she didn’t freak out about Pogo. Well, she was shocked obviously. But she took it well. She’s been chatting with him and Grace quite a bit. Oh fair warning, she doesn’t take anyone’s attitude. She shut down Luther pretty fast when he was being a jerk to Diego.”  
“Hm. Noted. She sounds great.”  
“She is. I bet she’d stab Reginald if she ever saw him.”  
“I’d _pay_ to see that if I had money. But uh, the coffee?” He really did need some. He just woke up. Vanya scoffed playfully and nodded.  
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go get it.”  
Just as she was getting up, Will moved again and his hand again found his. Vanya hadn’t noticed thank God. He felt his face get warm again as he remembered what her words implied. Though for some reason, he was reluctant to move Will’s hand. He looked down at him, his face now facing him since he’d turned over earlier. He really did look peaceful. He could see the freckles more clearly since it was day time. They were light, barely noticeable, but there. They looked… cute. For lack of better words. Will looked cute.  
_“Just think about it.”_  
That sentence just kept coming back. But… maybe for a reason. Maybe… Maybe Luther was right. He needed a friend outside of family. Vanya was right as well. It was hard for him to leave his comfort zone. Even a little bit. She knew that, but he wasn’t sure if Luther remembered. He must know that certain things were- difficult, for Five. Five does know that he’s trying to be a better brother though. He was pretty self-centered in the other time line. They all like to think he’s learning from it, and trying to do better like them. Luther had been interacting with each of them more. Even Five. Five was struggling with being more open, now that he hadn’t had anything to fear. He’d grown so use to being alone and not trusting others, he kind of forgot how to not do that. Vanya’s been a big help. She’s been with him more than the others. Maybe understanding the loneliness and mistrust. Ben too. He’s always been the most understanding one. Being the voice of reason for each of them. Even beyond the grave apparently, according to him and Klaus. This all just left him with one question.  
How would he make friends?  
It felt silly and embarrassing to not know this. But he truly didn’t. He never had a reason to make friends. He’d always felt more comfortable by himself, or with one of his siblings. His stomach churned with nerves when he thought about Will being his friend. How would that even work? Did it happen naturally, did he have to _ask?_ What did friends even do together? Besides, he still had the issue of not exactly being relatable. He had the tendency to be rude and selfish too. Not very well liked traits. Five removed his hand out from Will’s, and wrapped his arms around his legs. He rested his head on his knees, suddenly feeling very small. He became lost in these troubling thoughts when Vanya came back with a cup of coffee. When he didn’t look up at her, she frowned and became worried. She set the mug down on the nightstand, after moving the sketchbook so nothing happened to it.  
“Five, what’s wrong?”  
He was about to say nothing, but something stopped him. He was trying to be better. He swallowed, and wasn’t able to meet her eyes.  
“I… how…” he stumbled over his words and cleared his throat. “How do… you make friends?” he asked slowly. Another wave of embarrassment crashed down on him. At least this was just Vanya he was asking. His brothers would probably make fun of him, at least a little bit. Luther would brag. Ben would be another option to ask, but Five’s not sure what his experience in this is. He kind of died at a young age, and only stuck around Klaus, even when he was alive.  
“I’m not sure if I’m the right person for this, but, I would start with talking about common interests, or just common things in general. Get to know one another. And if Will doesn’t like you, then screw him. But something tells me you won’t have to worry about that.” Vanya smiled, and glanced down at Will. He was still sleeping. It’s like he was under a spell. Five smiled and actually felt better after talking with his sister.  
Will then slowly started to finally wake up. He yawned and rubbed at his eyes, which looked pretty cute. Five’s face grew warm, but he figured he just needed coffee. He turned and reached for the mug. While doing so he didn’t see Vanya’s knowing, slightly smug expression. He felt better when the warm bitter taste went down his throat.  
“Morning…” Will said sleepily. His voice was rough and Five’s stomach twisted. He probably needed food. He wondered if there was any breakfast made. Will smiled at Vanya and his stomach twisted again. Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t eaten since lunch the day before. He really did need to eat. Will turned to him, his brown eyes seemed to glow…  
“How did you sleep?” Vanya asked. Five finally looked away and sipped his coffee.  
“Really well, thanks.”  
_Knock, knock!_  
“Benny bro, just open it.” Klaus’ voice could be heard from behind the door. A mumble of Ben’s annoyed voice could he heard in response. Klaus sighed, and opened the door. “I’m sure they’re awake by now. No need to be- Good morning! Ha. Told ya. Ow.” Ben punched Klaus in the arm.  
“Klaus. Ben.” Vanya said with a nod. “Good morning.”  
“Right, morning. Ben wants to kill Five. That’s why we’re here.” Klaus graciously said. Five stopped drinking and glared at him. Vanya and Will just looked confused.  
“No I- ugh. Five, you let both of us hug you when you were bleeding to death! How could you be so stupid?!” Ben said loudly. The raised voice from little Ben surprised all of them. But then again, Ben was always the mother. Even more so than Vanya, and Grace, the actual mother figure. Five looked down at his drink, feeling guilty. He hated it when Ben was angry with him. “I was gonna do this last night, but Pogo made us leave. Why didn’t you say anything?”  
“I’m sorry. It was stupid.”  
He couldn’t think of anything else to say. He sucked at apologies. Ben stared him down with a glare, but eventually he nodded. Both boys walked over to him and gave him a gentler side-hug.  
“So long as you don’t do it again.” Ben said. Five sighed quietly in relief. “Mom and Joyce made breakfast by the way. You guys want some before Luther eats it all?”  
“Do you have to ask?” Five scoffed fondly at the memory of Luther always eating more than them. Just because he was stronger. Pfft. Didn’t mean the rest of them had to starve.  
The two boys left, and Vanya said she’d bring up a couple of plates of food for them. She and a few others have already eaten, and apparently Luther still was but that wasn’t surprising. Five’s mind wandered back to a thing Will had said the night before.  
“Hey, um, what did you mean when you said we have a lot more in common than you thought?” Five said as he turned and looked at Will. Will smiled and shrugged.  
“Just that. We have stuff in common.”  
Five blinked, confused. “But… Pogo said that you knew everything. What exactly do you know?” Will frowned a bit, and Five braced himself for the worst.  
“Like he said. Everything. The powers, your dad, your guys’ life with him, and how you disappeared. How Ben died then came back. I know why everyone left when they had the chance. Vanya’s book, spilling every secret that was kept. How she was treated. How Klaus was treated. Luther was sent to the freaking moon for nothing, for four years. Basically, everything leading up to the apocalypse. I… also know about your time travel… experience, with the apocalypse. How you grew up in it, and joined the Commission.”  
Will finished and Five looked away, avoiding his gaze. He should have waited. He wasn’t ready for judgment. Five swallowed. He knew everything. Five waited for what he feared to come. Will’s rejection. His pity. The disappointment. He swallowed again.  
Suddenly he felt a hand on top of his. He looked down to see Will’s hand gently squeezing his own. Reluctantly he looked over at him. Will was frowning, and his eyes were watery. But the look in them wasn’t rejection, hate, or even disappointment or pity. It was understanding. _Somehow_ Will understood? What… Five’s mind went blank. This response was not registering as a proper one. Will must have seen his confusion and gave a very small smile.  
“My story might not be the same, or even compare. But I get it. I understand.”  
Will then told Five his own story. About his own father, how he disappeared, Elle, the Demogorgon, how he got called a zombie, the Mind Flare… all of it. Will’s experiences were not at all like his own. Yet somehow they were still very similar. Abusive father. Check. Disappearance at a young age. Check. An apocalyptic world. Check. Enemies. Double check. Five never had enemies that weren’t human, but monsters were monsters in his book. By the end of the story, Five realized that he was crying. He didn’t know what started it, but it didn’t really matter.  
Hawkins wasn’t what it appeared to be. He knew something was off about this world. Turns out it was because of another world. In the end… it didn’t matter who you were, or how old you were. Getting stuck with either situation would be hell. He looked down at Will’s hand covering his own.  
“Guess you were right. We have stuff in common.” Five looked at Will. A few tears fell, but he let out a small, slightly wet chuckle and nodded.  
“I- I think…” Will started, “I think that’s why you guys came here. So we could help each other move on.” He smiled, and Five felt his stomach twist again. He had a point. This whole thing had been out of his control. He didn’t know where to start to try and get back. But then… did he really want to go back to that life? To Reginald? Did his siblings want to go back? Vanya probably didn’t. Klaus too. They always got the short ends of the stick. Not that everyone else got off scot free, but those two just got the worst. Five decided to ask them later. To see what they wanted. He’d been trying to think more of how they feel. To be a better brother. It’s hard breaking away from old habit, but he’s trying. Just like the others. Five smiled.  
“Y-yeah. It does make sense. That’s kind of what Vanya said a while ago. That we have a new start. After thinking about it, I don’t think I mind it.”  
He looked down at their hands again, feeling warm. Vanya was right about one thing, Will was special.

* * *

The next few days were spent getting to know Will’s family, Joyce, Jonathan who’d gotten back from camping, Joyce’s boyfriend Jim Hopper, the chief of police, and his adopted daughter Jane. Five had noticed something off about Jane as well, and Will explained her story. Some things he wasn’t there for, so he didn’t know much, Five would have to ask Jane or Hopper. When he did, Jane seemed okay to explain it. How she’d been a fucking experiment. Kind of like him and his siblings. Vanya got along well with her, as did Allison. It was good for them to have another girl friend. Five knew that being one of the two girls in a big family of, mostly males, could be a bit much sometimes. Grace and Joyce got along well too. Joyce was decided to teach Grace more about their world, and how they did things around the house and such. Reginald was kind of old fashioned, so neither of them knew much when it came to technology. Allison maybe, having become famous and more integrated into the twenty-first century. Five liked Jane. While she had trouble with English and grammar, he could easily understand her anyway. She learned fast, thankfully. Jonathan and Will were teaching her school related things, as were Joyce and Hopper. Five suggested he could tutor her in math and science, but Allison annoyingly pointed out that he was far too advanced.  
For any of them. Thanks Allison.  
The family surprisingly handled meeting Pogo very well. Guess, having encounters with much more dangerous creatures, made him seem less threatening. Five understood it. He hasn’t seen the creatures these people have fought, but he’d seen Will’s drawings of them. He’d prefer to not meet them, thank you. Over time Will had explained his story to Five’s family, so they understood things better. Pogo wasn’t wrong about communication. The Hargreeves lacked it from the beginning and look where that got them.  
It was a while before Will contacted his friends. They were away doing family stuff, as it was summer time so they were out of school. Which meant there was plenty of time to get to know each other. Five’s siblings got along great with Will and his friends. Despite being the nerds of the town, they were pretty cool. At least it’s what it looked like. Five was kind of reluctant to actually get to know them.  
They weren’t Will. They wouldn’t understand as much as him. All in all, Five actually felt awkward around them. But it wasn’t their fault, it was him. As much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he didn’t know shit about being a kid. Let alone a kid in the eighties. He’d grown up much too fast. Five had explained to Will that he didn’t even really know who he himself was, not having had the time to figure it out. He found it pretty hard to act like a normal kid. He’d notice that once in a while he’d say or do something that were viewed as odd to the others. He felt like he just made things awkward all the time, at least with Will’s friends. He was just more comfortable with his siblings, or Will. Mike and company tried to include him in their various activities, but it seemed to only make his awkwardness more apparent, and worse. He envied his siblings a bit for how easily they bonded with the other kids.  
But like everything else, he tried to hide his issues and act like things were okay.  
Currently it was after dinner, and he was sitting on the back steps of the Byers house, contemplating his issues and then ignoring them like he usually did. He stared mindlessly at the forest ahead of him, an odd feeling coming over him. There was just something about that forest.  
“Hey.” Luther’s voice brought him out of his weird trance. He glanced at his older brother as he sat down beside him. “You okay?”  
“Yeah.”  
“Five. Seriously. You’re sitting here looking depressed as ever. You know we know you hide basically everything wrong.” Luther said as he nudged him super gently, considering it’s Luther. Five sighed quietly. He was right. Five did want to open up more to his family. Stop getting advice from only one person. Who was usually Vanya, or Ben sometimes, but mostly Vanya. He bit his lip.  
“I can take a guess if you want.” When Five didn’t say anything, Luther continued. “It’s about the whole ‘normal kid’ thing, huh?” Five frowned. He wished it wasn’t so obvious.  
“I just… can’t seem to get it. I know it hasn’t been long, and things don’t happen over night. Usually anyway.” Five added that last part as a flash of the apocalypse flew across his mind. That one did actually happen in one night. Less than a night really. “No matter what I do, or what we do, I always end up making things… weird. Even though it hasn’t been long, I had hoped for at least _some_ progress in… I don’t know. Normality? I guess?” Five sighed. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.  
“Give it time. I know you don’t like it when things are taking a long time. But this is probably just one of those things. Besides, Will seems to like you just fine.”  
“Will understands. He went through a similar… thing…”  
“He’s pretty strong, huh? Having gone through all of that, and he’s still here.” Luther said absentmindedly. “I doubt I could have done it. His thing and yours. You’re just as strong. Stronger than me.”  
“In some areas.” Five sighed.  
“I’m proud of you, you know. You’ve come so far. You’ve defeated obstacles I couldn’t even imagine. I know for a fact that over time, you’ll be able to concur this one too. It’ll just take time.”  
Five sighed again, but knew he was right. He just hated waiting. He also hated failing. Right now he was kind of failing at normal life. It was just pissing him off is all. He knew he needed to be patient, but it wasn’t exactly a strong suit of his. Like a lot of things… he sighed once more and was going to thank Luther-  
When he saw something in the woods.  
“You see that?” Five asked, becoming tense and alert. It couldn’t be.  
“What was it? An animal?”  
“I hope so. But something tells me it’s worse.”  
“You think it… but how?”  
“I don’t know. I just hope I’m wrong.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna leave that ending scene with Luther for the next chapter, but then it felt incomplete so I was like, meh, whatever. :D  
> Yay brotherly bonding!


	5. Fuck Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five and Luther bond while having an encounter, and Five has a big realization. (About time really.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Five kind of has another panic attack in this one.

Five stared into the forest. It couldn't have been. That's not what he saw. It was a dog. Or a small bear. Not, not those things. They didn't need that right now. Or ever! He would never let Will live in fear again. He’d never-

“Five, Five!” Luther shook him a little. “We have to tell them.”

“What? No. This is the last thing they need. Will especially. Besides we don't even know if it's what we think. We can't confirm anything.”

“Five, I don't know what you saw, but I saw a slimy ass dog, with no tail, and a cone shaped head.”

Yeah, okay, Five saw that too. That didn't mean it had to be real. Not yet anyway.

“Maybe it was just one. Come on Five. You know it's the right thing to do.”

Five swallowed. Will said they move in packs. Like wolves. That they're a hive mind. If there's one…

Five looked at the forest and his hand went to the spare knife he kept in his pockets. There was one in his sock too.

“Five, no. Whatever you're thinking-”

Luther didn't get to finish as Five space jumped away. Luther swore in frustration. He looked at the forest to see his brother dart in it.

“Fucking- FIVE.” Luther decided that there was no time to get others, Five would do something more stupid and dangerous. Luther sighed and chased after Five.

* * *

Five grasped the knife tightly in his hand. No way was he going to let this thing run those people's lives again. Especially Will. Five would do whatever it takes to protect him.

The woods were dark at night. But Five could manage. He's been trapped in darkness before. He heard a twig snap. He looked to see-

Luther.

“Are you stupid?” Five hissed quietly.

“Are you?!” Luther hissed back. “Going in here alone when we know next to nothing about these things.”

“We know some things.”

“Not enough. Besides-”

_Snap!_

Both boys froze and became quiet. Luther stepped closer to Five.

“Teleport us out of here. Now.” Luther whispered.

Five swallowed as Luther grabbed his hand.

“We'd be much more effective if we had all of us Five. If there's a pack-”

“Shut up. I hear something.”

Something was moving. Towards them. At a fast pace-

Before either of them could react something longed at them from behind. Five grabbed Luther and dove for the ground, just barely dodging some fucking sharp claws. Five cringed at the sharp pain in his side. His wound was still healing. The thing shrieked, loudly. Five and Luther covered their ears. Five looked at it and realized that it wasn't a dog like thing. It- it… well… the closest thing to compare it to would be a slimy scorpion. A giant, loud, slimy scorpion. Five swallowed and suddenly felt the fear Will had. This thing… was- he had no idea what it was! He’d never seen anything like it before. It seemed to get Five into some kind of trance. For the longest time they stared at each other. The thing gave low growls like a dog, but also not like a dog. It made Five stand frozen. Sweat trickled down his body. It felt like his fear wasn’t in his control. He could feel it spiraling out of him every second. There was some sort of darkness along with it. Five found it hard to breathe. He couldn’t _breathe!_

Luther was right. This was a completely idiotic idea. Even for him. He should have known better. Now he would get himself and Luther killed. Five couldn’t do a damn thing! He was frozen stiff. The thing had him in a trance of fear that shook him to his core.

Something collided with his face, and he realized it was Luther’s fist. He needed that. Five snapped out of his trance, and grabbed Luther. He teleported them out of there, and right into Will’s bedroom. He needed to know Will was safe. He needed to get away. He- he needed…

He needed _Will!_

Now standing in the bedroom, Will, who had been drawing at his desk, gasped and turned around. At first he looked annoyed, but then really worried. He instantly went over to Five, who was now sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed. He was trying to calm himself down. He had to breathe! He tried to focus on the now familiar scent of Will. It always seemed to calm him down, even at his worst. It helped that he was beside his bed. He’d rather be in it, but he kind of can’t find it in him to move after having collapsed onto the floor. He wasn’t frozen in fear as much as panic. Five felt hands on his shoulders, and looked up to see Will himself in front of him.

_Thank God…_

“Five, you’re okay. Just listen to me. Focus on me.” Will said.

He tried. He really did. He stared at Will, his hair, face, his eyes. Gradually, very gradually, he started to feel better. Five reached forward and tried to ground himself by wrapping his arms around Will and hugging him tightly. The sudden movement surprise both of them, and Luther who was very worried.

All Luther could do was watch as Will tried his best to calm his friend. While he liked Will just fine, (he was honestly the nicest person Luther’s ever met aside from Ben and Vanya,) he couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Luther just wanted to help his brother. To be a better brother. He was trying really hard to let old habits die. But as the saying goes, it’s hard. He couldn’t help but envy how much Five had bonded with Will, even if he doesn’t think so, in the past few days. It was much more than how much he and Luther have bonded over the years. It irked him a little okay?

But then Luther remembered Vanya’s theory. It might not be a brother thing. Like, at all. Luther looked back at the way the two boy interacted with each other. Five constantly let Will touch him, and didn’t push him away like he did with everyone else. That alone had to mean something. Sure, Five sometimes let Klaus touch him, and Vanya, but definitely not as much as Will. There was also the fact that Five initiated this hug. Five didn’t do that with anyone. It was always the other person. There was also the way Five looked at Will. Five probably didn’t even notice it, but he always looked at Will like he was the most amazing person to ever exist. He had the habit of staring at him too. Vanya mentioned Five blushing when she’d teased him. Five. Blushing. Somehow that didn’t compute with Luther. He found it hilarious though. Finally something made his brother embarrassed. He wondered when Five will realize what’s happening. He might not though. Five basically didn’t have much, if any experience in this area of life. Luther did, but Five… he’d always kept to himself. Then the apocalypse happened and all that crap. Figures the first person Five would develop his first crush on would be his first friend. But then again… it kind of makes sense.

Actually, Luther really liked Will. He thought there wasn’t anyone better for Five. Will was the kindest person he’d ever met next to Vanya. He was talented, strong as he’d mentioned to Five earlier, loyal, he was also funny. He was quiet, but once in a while he’d say something that make everyone laugh.

Five had finally calmed down. They pulled apart, and Five sighed and looked down. He sniffed a bit and Will looked at Luther.

“What happened?” he asked.

“It-” Luther started but Five cut him off.

“Panic attack. That’s all. Just a bad one.” Five ignored Luther’s glare. He hated lying to Will, but he’d promised to protect him. That thing wouldn’t go anywhere near him, or his family and friends, as long as he lived! Knowing his friends would try kill that thing… he couldn’t risk Will getting hurt.

“Five…” Will said. Five looked up, and Five knew that Will knew he was lying. They stared at each other for a while. Will put a gentle hand on the cheek Luther punched. It was starting to bruise.

“I punched him.” Luther blurted. “We were arguing, and I lost it. It made him flashback to his assassin days, and the Commission. He kept begging someone called The Handler to stop.” Luther did his best to look ashamed, which was honestly pretty good. But Luther had been against his plan to lie, why back it up? Five stared at him for a few seconds before Will spoke.

“I see… just try not to lose it again.” Will looked back at Five. “I'm gonna get some ice for that. Be right back.” Will stood up and pulled Five with him. He sat Five on the bed and left the room.

Five wished he hadn't. He want her the boy go, and turned his gaze to his older brother.

“Why'd you do it? Cover it?”

“Because… the only one of their group that has powers is Jane. If they go in… well… it's better if they don't. Will especially. And if we tell them, they'll go in no matter what we say. I don't want them getting hurt just as much as you. And maybe we can figure this out ourselves.”

Five stared at him for a few seconds. Then he nodded. “We'll figure something out. Maybe we can go to that lab and get some clues.”

“Yeah. But they'll notice us gone. We need an excuse.”

“Yeah I'll think of one. We-”

Before Five could finish, Will came back with a small bag of ice. Luther made up a flimsy excuse, and left the room. They'll talk later.

Will knelt down in front of Five. He gently cupped the good side of his face and brought the ice to the bruise on the other side. It was a strange mix of temperatures. On one side, Five's face was really warm from Will's hand. On the other was the freezing cold ice. It did feel good on the bruise though. He couldn't help but stare into Will's eyes. He was so close. His stomach twisted and he felt his hands become clammy. What was happening to him? It's been happening off and on, but he can't figure out why. The weird sick feeling in his stomach and the heat in his face. Was he getting sick?

He didn't hate it though. When he got sick, he was always miserable. This wasn't the case. His body seemed to seek out this feeling all the time. He kind of wondered if it had to do with the Upside Down. Or those creatures.

“Five…” Will's voice brought him back. “What really happened?”

Five sighed. Will saw through Luther's lie. But…

“Half of it was true. He punched me… and I panicked.” Five said shakily.

“And?” Will said.

“We saw something. In the woods.”

“Something?” Will echoed. His eyes showed signs of fear and Five hated this. He hated seeing Will scared. Five vaguely notice the lights flickering.

“It was different.” Five whispered. His voice shook, remembering the thing, and the trance it put him in.

“Different how?”

“It wasn't a dog.”

“A man?”

“No…” A few tears escaped his eyes. Five cursed himself for being weak.

 _“Weak!”_ Reginald’s voice rang through his mind.

“Five. Hey. Look at me. You're okay. Whatever it was or did… you're safe with me.” Will said softly.

Five sniffed and nodded.

“It was a… giant slimy beetle. I-I don’t know how else to describe it. Just- just promise me you and your friends won't go after it. _Promise_ me.”

Will stared at him for a bit. Fear evident in his eyes. Five hated that he caused it. Absolutely hated it. He closed his eyes and squeezed them tight. Will, while still holding the ice to his face, brought him in for a hug.

“I promise. I promise…” Will kept repeating it until Five felt better.

Five felt so warm. He always felt warm with Will. Being in his arms… it felt right. It- it felt like home. Five pulled Will closer. His stomach did that weird twist. Like he was sick. But he wasn't, like all the other times. Maybe it… had to do with Will. It happened a lot around him. That and the warmth he always felt. Plus he smells so nice and-

FUCK.

This- this was a- a crush!

Five Hargreeves had a crush on Will Byers! Fucking hell!

What the hell was he supposed to do about it? Five's face heated up much more than before. He was blushing probably. Damn it! He had to at least control that. Otherwise his siblings would tease him to no end! He would say his life would be hell on earth if that happened, but well, he’d already lived through it so…

They pulled apart from the hug, and Will readjusted the ice pack on his bruise. The blush came back full force as Five realized how intimate this was. His heartbeat raced.

“Are you okay? Your face is all red.” Will said as he placed a hand on his forehead.

_FUCK my life!_

Five would swear that he nearly had a heart attack right then and there. The ice helped keep the heat back a little, but, well, Five felt like his face was just melting it. More so than it normally would.

“Y-yeah.” he stuttered again. His stomach was now full of flapping butterflies, and he didn’t know how to get rid of any of it! He cleared his throat. “Yeah. I’m fine. Probably just after effects from the panic attack. It happens to me sometimes.”

Will obviously wasn’t buying it, much like the previous lie. Somehow in the span of a few days, he’d come to learn the little ticks to know when Five was lying. And Five was a master liar. Just ask the Commission. Just ask his siblings. But thank God Will decided to drop it. He still looked worried though, and Five wished he could take it away. It hurts to see those eyes filled with anything less than happiness. Will finally nodded, and let Five hold the ice pack. Will walked over to his desk and started to dig around in the drawers. Five watched and contemplated his newly found discovery.

Despite now wanting to squash these feelings, Five still wanted Will to be close to him. God how was he supposed to cope with this… this… crush. Ugh. Just the word alone made him want to puke. He didn’t even think he was capable of developing one. Not after… everything. Maybe the universe knew though. Maybe the others were right about that. The universe having some weird plan to push the Hargreeves to mix with the kids of Hawkins, Indiana in 1985.

And hey, he liked boys who knew? Not him. That wasn’t really an issue though, it was really just the feelings themselves. He had no idea where to start on how to control them, let alone get rid of them. The last thing he needed was heartbreak, because Will most likely did not return his feelings. He hadn’t shown any signs, from what he can remember. So far it had just been friendship for Will. Five hadn’t seen him blush, or act nervous. Were there signs that he just didn’t know about? Probably, he knew next to nothing about romance. His stomach swooped, this time in a sickly way, at the word. He was not romantic. Ask any of his siblings. The thing with Dolores… He didn’t even know what that was to be honest. He’d just kind of grew some attachment to her. It was probably being stuck alone in a dying world, as Luther said. When he’d found her, he thought he could just mimic company. Feel like he wasn’t truly alone. He didn’t expect to maybe have a mental issue, and actually care about her. But then, Reginald had said that time travel messed with the brain. That’s probably what happened there. His brain became wired to accept her as an actual person, despite not actually being one.

He still missed her. She got left behind, at the mansion. To be honest though, it was probably for the best. Now Five could bond with real human beings. But there was a big problem, and that was he didn’t know how to do it. He was just barely doing so with Will and his friends, and they knew something was off with him. Will’s friends didn’t know the damage the apocalypse had caused. They just knew that he’d traveled to it and came back eight days before it happened. They didn’t know how truly awful Reginald had been. That Ben had died and come back. That Vanya was the main cause of the apocalypse in the first place. Only Will and his family knew those details. The others didn’t need to know. But they seemed fine with it. Five was fine with it. He didn’t need judgement from them.

“Here.” Will said, bringing him back. He’d gotten out a small sketch pad and a pencil. He sat down close beside Five. He tried to ignore how he really liked that warmth Will’s body gave him. His pulse sped up, and he tried to ignore that too.

“I know you probably don’t want to, but describe what the creature looked like and I’ll draw it. So we know what it looks like. While it’s fresh in your memory.”

Five took in a deep breath and let it out shakily. He really didn’t want to think of that thing. It had gotten him in a weird trance of deep fear. He clasped his hands together on his lap to get them to stop shaking. Will placed his hand on top of them. Five ignored the tingly feeling that appeared from the touch and the way the shaking slow down.

“I’m right here with you. And I’m not going anywhere.” Will said. His voice was so sure and calm. Five swallowed, the fear bringing up a lump in his throat. He hated being scared. He could do this. With Will right there, he could do it. They needed to know what it looks like. Five nodded, and began describing it. Will was doing a good job of recreating it on paper. The image alone sparked a wave of fear in Five. He had to look away from it. When they finished, Will wrapped an arm around Five’s waist and pulled him close. He put the sketchbook and pencil down on the bed, and brought him in for another hug. Five wished he knew why the creature affected him so much. Then Will said the words that Five dreaded.

“We have to tell the others.”

“W-Will-” Fuck his shaky, weak voice!

“I’ll make sure they don’t get any stupid ideas. We have no idea what this thing is capable of. Or if there are more. Which, there probably is. If they’re worse than the Demogorgon and the Demodogs, and the Mind Flare… They can’t go after it. I promised you that we won’t. I’ll take that promise to my grave.”

Five wished he hadn’t said that last part. His grave. He couldn’t stand the thought of seeing it. A few tears fell. Will brought his hand up and wiped them away with his thumb. The warmth from his hand spread throughout his face.

“I promise.” Will repeated.

Five only hoped that his friends kept that promise as well.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically the creature is the one from the ST season 3 trailer. We don't have clear images just yet, but that's the best one. There's literally just one clip of it and the trailer moves on. It looks kind of beetle-like, but I don't know if it flies or not. For plot purposes for this fan fiction, I'm gonna say it does and that the wings are see-through, so clear they're almost invisible.  
> Since we only have that one clip, we don't know if it's the same creatures or a completely new one. I'm going with the theory that it's the next stage for the Demodogs. Like, after the humanoid form they sprout more legs and grow the wings and get even bigger. Not sure how it works science wise, but hey, they're aliens that probably defy Earth science. Just go with it lol.  
> This is just my take on it.  
> What do you guys think the creature is? The next stage, or a new one? What are your theories on season 3's plot?


	6. This Little Light of Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five is struggling in more ways than one, Allison ships this ship, and Luther is proving to be a good brother, and something is up with Will.

It was currently nighttime, and Five and Will were lying down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling. Instead of sleeping like regular people. But hey. They had a perfectly good excuse for not sleeping. They had to figure out a way to tell the others about the scorpion thing, without making them panic or immediately jump into action. Which a few of them would- cough Mike and Luther cough. They were going to use the drawing of the creature, but weren’t sure of where to start.  
Five tried to focus on the task at hand, but having Will right there next to him radiating a comforting heat, as well as making his stomach flutter, was making it very hard to concentrate. He hated these feelings from the start. He couldn’t focus on the important things. It was making him anxious and nervous. His face was feeling warm, but not as much as earlier when he’d first realized his crush. Thank God for that. But just as he was beginning to calm himself down, Will, for some God damn reason, put his arm around Five’s shoulders. Five’s face got hotter and he glanced at the other boy, who looked completely calm and fine.  
Absolutely no signs of a crush. No blushing, no shaky nervousness, nothing. Fucking… Five looked back up at the ceiling. His heart was beating so fast and loudly, he feared that Will could hear it. But he’d said nothing at all. He just stared up at the ceiling, trying to think of a plan. Did Will even realized he’d moved his arm? Five kind of suspected that he didn’t. He looked focused on the issue they were currently having. His face looked determined, which was a strange contrast to the rest of his body which looked completely relaxed. Will would always be a mystery to Five. He couldn’t read him quite as well as he could others. He was the best at it, yet Will defied him of all logic. Without even trying, he was sure Will didn’t even know it.  
Five made his mind go back to the problems at hand. If they just told them they saw this thing in the woods, they’d just go after it without thinking. So, how would they…  
“I think, we should start with my mom, Jonathan, Grace and Pogo. Then the rest. The older folks would be more logical and think things out. Well, I hope anyway.” Will suggested. He sighed quietly and rested his head on Five’s shoulder.  
FUCK.  
Five tried to ignore his body. He tried. Will had no idea what he was doing to him. He was a complete mess now. He awkwardly cleared his throat.  
“Yeah. You’re right. Pogo would come up with something probably. He’s smart like that.”  
And that was the plan. They’d see what happened from there and come up with something with the adults. Jonathan was eighteen now, and therefore technically an adult. So he was included in the group. Not to mention his experience would help.  
The two boys decided to finally try and sleep. Will managed to do so. His arm was now around Five's waist rather than his arms. His head was still on his shoulder. It made Five blush even more. Not that he did anything about it. He felt out of control of his feelings. Five laid there wide awake and frustrated at himself. He wouldn't move Will even if he wanted to. God he was a mess. He wanted these feelings to be gone, but he still wanted Will close to him.  
He wanted to punch himself in the face.  
He sighed quietly and closed his eyes. Will, as if he could sense his frustration, put his other arm around his waist as well and brought him closer. Five's face was overheating. He thought he might die from it, it was so intense. He could imagine what he must look like. His face and neck bright red. Like a cartoon when a character ate too much hot sauce or something. Still...  
He was comfortable with Will right there. Five smiled despite his frustration. He should probably try and sleep. Tomorrow was most likely going to be emotional for all of them. Five closed his eyes and focused on Will. Finally he drifted off.

* * *

Five woke up feeling well rested and warm. He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. He couldn't help it. Will just smelled so good! His heart was pounding rapidly. God help him. He was so done for. Will’s arms were still around him. They were so close…  
“Morning.”  
Fuck.  
Will was awake. Five's face grew warm as he opened his eyes to find Will smiling at him. His big brown eyes shined so brightly. So brown and-  
“Sleep well?”  
Five blinked. “Huh?”  
Fucking- nice response. Brilliant. Really.  
“Oh, um, yeah. Yeah.” Five’s face grew even hotter. Will smiled and Five thought he might die again. Gees, the things this boy did to him. He hated this, damn it. Now that he was so close to Will, the freckles were so clear. There were more than he’d thought, but further away they were harder to see. Five was going to be in a new trance if he didn’t do something soon. He was about to pull away when Will brought him closer.  
Fucking… Five sighed on the inside. Did Will actually know what he was doing after all? The thought both thrilled and terrified Five.  
Click! There was a brief flash of light as well. Shit.  
Both boys looked up and moved away from each other as fast as they could. Five felt sick. He expected to see Will’s brother, who often took photos using his camera, but instead… he saw Allison.  
“Allison…” Five warned. He jumped so he was in front of her and tried to reach for the picture that developed. Allison was wearing heals though and therefore, was taller than him. She held the picture up high and waved it as it developed. She smirked as he tried reaching for it.  
“Awe don’t be embarrassed Five. I think it’s cute! What’s the big deal? I mean, it’s not exactly a secret that you-”  
“Shut up! Shut up now.” Five whispered harshly. His face got hot. Thankfully Allison didn’t finish that sentence. He couldn’t have Will knowing. Or any of the others. It’d be the end of him!  
“Okay, okay.” Allison surrendered. She showed him the picture. Anger and embarrassment rose up in Five. He’d been caught in a moment of weakness! His face in the picture was also bright red. Not very flattering. And the way he was staring at Will… God it was so obvious! It was terrifying how obvious it was. Had it been that obvious all along?! Five honestly thought he’d been good at concealing his feelings. Although… these feelings… maybe not so much now that he’d figured it out.  
“I’ve never seen you so red before. It’s so cute! I’ve got to show Vanya, she’ll be so happy that you-”  
“NO.” Five said loudly. Will quickly walked over and stood beside him. Five snatched the picture out of her hands. She frowned at him. There was no way they would know. NEVER. Plus, Will seemed afraid. If Five was going to protect him, he had to get rid of any fear too. He couldn’t bare the sight of Will being scared. But when Five glanced at him, he looked mostly confused.  
Five absentmindedly noticed the lights flickering as if they were confused about whether or not they should be on or off.  
“Y-You’re not… you don’t… I mean- we were- um…” Will blushed as he stumbled over his words, unsure of what he was saying. Why would he- oh.  
Eighties. Right. Gayness in general was not as accepted here. Fuck. Will had also mentioned how awful his father was. He maybe was under the impression that homosexuality was a bad thing. Five just wanted to hug him tightly and never let go. The world would never harm Will as long as he was around. Allison also seemed to understand and shook her head, smiling.  
“Where we come from, it’s much more accepted, and pretty common. None of us will judge anyone.” She smiled widely and then smirked. “Especially family members…”  
“Shut up.” Five said instantly. He looked away as Will looked over at him, no confusion, just curiosity. He couldn’t let Will see his face right now. It might be as red as it is in the picture. Damn it Allison.  
“Grace is making breakfast.” Allison said, changing the subject. Thank God. Five held the picture in his hands tightly. “She was wondering if you wanted eggs or pancakes. Or both.”  
“I’ll take pancakes.” Will said. He seemed a lot more relaxed now. Good.  
“Either, tell her to surprise me.” Five sighed. The day hadn’t even started and he’d experienced so many emotions already. Honestly fuck them. He ran a hand through his hair.  
Allison snatched the picture back and quickly closed the door. FUCK. Five stood there in shock that she’d one-upped him. He was too much of a mess to think properly. She must have known that. FUCKING… UGH! Five groaned and leaned his forehead against the door. Will had the audacity to snicker. Snicker! He was laughing at Five’s expense! The bastard… But Five didn’t have it in him to actually be annoyed at Will. He could never have negative feelings towards him. Will was too pure for it. Five shot him a glare that wasn’t nearly as menacing as it usually was. Will only smirked. God damn it that smirk. His heart skipped a beat and he had to look away before he ended up staring.  
He was utterly fucked wasn’t he?  
“They can’t be that bad.” Will said. Five sighed.  
“I wish that were true.”

* * *

A while later, after getting ready for the day, (in a much more sour mood than Five anticipated, thanks Allison,) the two boys slowly made their way to the stairs. Will started heading down, the drawing of the scorpion in his pocket, but Five stopped near the top. He was about to endure the worst teasing in his life. He had to prepare. Will stopped when he realized Five wasn’t coming. Five locked eyes with him and he had a brief moment of insecurity. Will smiled reassuringly and Five would swear that his heart stopped. Will walked back up to him and gently took his hand and Five’s face grew warm. He looked down so Will didn’t see the blush on his face. He really needed to control that, but Will made it appear no matter what he did!  
Speaking of him, Will used his other hand to cup the side of his face and bring it back up. Damn it. Five was sure Will knew what he was doing. How could he not? After seeing how fucking obvious he was being… The whole damn world might as well know. Will’s smile grew and Five couldn’t help the small one on his own face.  
“I’ll protect you.” Will said.  
He looked so sure and determined. They both knew how well Five was able to protect himself. Hell he could take out his own family with words alone, everyone knew that. But Five’s heart did a leap at the thought of someone else protecting him for a change. It’d been so long since the last time anyone did that for him. The hallway light flickered as they stared at each other. Five would take notice of it, considering the aliens tended to make lights do that, but he was kind of really distracted right now.  
His eyes flickered down to Will’s lips. He wondered what kissing was like. He’d never actually done it before. He’d never had feelings before. This was all so new. To be honest… he didn’t really know what he was doing. It’s not like he learned about love and feelings in the apocalypse, or from dad- ugh that’d be awkward. Five cleared his mind from thoughts of him. He couldn’t ruin this. Whatever this was… His heart was pounding like crazy. He suddenly realized how close their faces actually were. Their lips were only an inch or so away and-  
“Ow, Luther! That hurt!”  
“You started it, you baby!”  
Klaus’ mumbled response echoed through the hallway making the two boys jump back. The dimmed lights came back to their full brightness and Five sighed. Will only snickered quietly. Five saw that Will’s face was slightly pink as well. At least he wasn’t alone this time.  
“We should probably get down there and stop them from killing each other.” Will smiled, and Five could only nod in response. God he was such a mess.  
They walked down the stairs, and Five wished they were still holding hands. But then again, it’d only result in more teasing. Ugh. He loved his family, but ugh. As they came into the living room, Diego was trying to break up Luther and Klaus who were still fighting. About what, they had no idea. Five decided to intervene. He managed to pry Klaus out from Luther’s grip, which surprised him a bit considering Luther’s strength, and stood in front of Klaus and glared at Luther. Klaus was never really one to start fights. Verbal or physical. He stayed away from conflict usually, not wanting to get involved.  
Five also saw that Mike and the others were sitting there as well. All were somewhat amused by their argument. He could see the appeal but it was mainly annoying for him.  
“Okay. What’s going on?” Five asked anyone who could answer. Luckily Vanya was there and explained. She also seemed amused, but also slightly annoyed. Probably because she knew fighting got people nowhere. Ben was mostly just annoyed. Probably because Klaus was involved.  
“Klaus was explaining his power to the guys,” Vanya gestured to Mike and friends, “and Luther kind of insulted him, Klaus insulted him back, insults got worse, and here we are.”  
Five sighed. But he appreciated Vanya’s honesty. That was one of the things he loved about her. She never lied.  
Of course the fight would just be about hurt prides. Luther was the most prideful out of all of them. Klaus seemed to have none, but he was obviously still insulted sometimes, as anyone would be. He also had a knack for annoying people to no end.  
“You missed the best part though,” Dustin piped up with a chuckle, “Klaus called Luther a stupid uh, what was it?”  
“A big hairball.” Klaus finished for him. Five could feel his smirk. Five sighed again. He had a feeling that the eighties kids didn’t know the truth about why Klaus would say that particular comment. They didn’t know about Luther’s slightly changed DNA. It was a bit of a sore spot for Luther. He would question what Luther had said to Klaus, but he could easily guess that it had to do with his past history with drugs and alcohol. That was also a sore spot for Klaus as he’d mainly used it to keep the tormented ghosts away.  
“Luther threw the first verbal hit though in case you were wondering.” Dustin also explained. Five figured as much. Klaus never started fights himself. Luther sometimes did because of his words, and pride.  
“Okay.” Five sighed. He was tired of this shit. They never had time for it. There were more important thing. “Could you guys stop antagonizing each other? We’re trying to do better now. We can’t keep falling back to old habits. So just, make up already. There are more important things in life.” He gave Luther a look with that last sentence. He seemed to understand that he was talking about the new creature they encountered and the problems it would bring. Luther sighed, but nodded.  
“You’re right.” he mumbled. Klaus looked surprised, but Five didn’t blame him. Luther, at least in the past, he had some issues with apologizing. Luther stuck out his hand for Klaus to shake. Klaus, though he looked suspicious, took it and the two shook and made up. Thank God. No more pointless arguing.  
“Speaking of important things, Luther and I need to tell you guys something.” Five looked at Luther, who looked back in surprise. Right, last time they had interacted, Five begged him to not say anything. He looked over to Will, who had the drawing in his back pocket. It was just barely sticking out, as Will was staring out the window. Huh…  
At first Five thought Will was having some kind of panic attack, and was thinking that those things were outside or something. But he looked calm. His elbow rested on the sill, and his head was facing upwards, kind of towards the sun.  
“Will?” Five asked quietly as he walked towards him. Will didn’t respond, and that worried him. The others too apparently as they all stood up and each looked equally worried. Mike stepped forward a bit but stopped a few feet away. Five looked at Will’s face as he got closer. At first he looked normal, but his eyes… were glowing a golden yellow colour. |Five would find it beautiful to look at, but he was now a lot more worried than before. Will was just standing there, still, eyes fixed on… something in the sky. Five looked up, and realized that it actually was the sun he was looking at. He was in some sort of trance. Like he as being hypnotized. Five put a gentle had on his shoulder. The gold colour was still there, as Will looked at him.  
“Five?” Will looked genuinely confused.  
“Are you okay?” Five asked. Through the gold colour in Will’s eyes, he still looked confused.  
“Yeah of course. Something wrong?”  
Will turned away from the window and noticed the others looking equally concerned. They turned to shock upon seeing his eyes. Will of course was just confused still.  
“What? What’s… whoa…” Will’s eyes slowly returned to normal and he raised a hand to his forehead. He seemed fine for about one second. Then he fainted. Five caught him instantly, being right next to him. Luther quickly came over and carried him to the couch to lay him down.  
“What just happened to Will?” Mike asked. He knelt down in front of Will as Five sat on the arm of the couch, just behind Will’s head. Now it appeared they had a new issues at hand.  
“Why were his eyes all glowing and stuff?” Dustin asked. “I mean it looked cool and all but what the hell was it?”  
Dustin very much reminded Five of Klaus. Maybe a more toned down version.  
“I have no idea. He seemed like he was in a trance.” Five said. He looked down at Will. He looked perfectly fine still. Not pale or sick like one usually looked like after fainting. He just looked like he was sleeping. Five wanted to brush some of his hair out of his face, as it was annoying him, but he didn’t want to risk teasing from everyone else. They’d manage to avoid it completely thanks to Luther and Klaus, and now Will.  
They would have to tell Joyce, but she was working. Jonathan was still camping.  
“I’ll get Pogo, see if he can help.” Vanya said. She then left the room to wherever Pogo was. He’d probably be more help than anyone to be honest. He knew more about the weird stuff having worked with Reginald, and lived with the kids. Five suddenly wondered just how much Pogo knew. A few minutes later, she arrived with Pogo and Grace.  
“Oh…” Grace sighed quietly. “Perhaps I should call Joyce at work. Is it best she knows?” She was mainly asking Pogo.  
“Probably, yes. Please do call her.” Pogo responded. As Grace nodded and walked to the phone in the kitchen, Pogo took Mike’s spot and knelt down in front of Will. He didn’t seem to be concerned, but mostly looked curious. “Vanya said his eyes were glowing a gold colour, yes?”  
“Yeah.” Five and Mike replied in unison. They glanced at each other but said nothing. There was an odd tension in the air, but Five ignored it. There were more important things to worry about. Namely Will. Pogo looked over him carefully. It helped that he was also a doctor.  
“And he was in a kind of trance. Hm…” he said, he gently opened one of Will’s eyes, then closed it. They looked normal now. The normal brown Five liked to look at. Good.  
“Is Will gonna be okay?” Lucas asked.  
“I’d say so. He’ll be just fine in the long run.”  
The room seemed to sigh in relief. Five hadn’t taken his eyes off Will, hoping he’d wake up and be normal again. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed Mike looking at him oddly. Neither said anything though.  
Grace came back into the room, having called Joyce. She explained that the mother would be home shortly, cutting her work day short to be with Will.  
“So what happened to Will?” Mike asked stepping closer. Five sense that the source of the tension was coming from him, but he couldn’t tell why. Probably just because his friend was experiencing something unknown to them. Again. Why was it always Will?  
“It’s perfectly fine. It’s the beginning stages of discovering a new kind of power. One that possibly has to do with light, or the sun. He doesn’t seem to be in any pain as far as I can tell.” Pogo said with a nod. Five looked at him, finally tearing his gaze away from Will.  
A new power? Wow. It made sense though. Why Will was so calm. He was worried though. If it involved the sun… how powerful was he? Vanya had control of sound, and she’d caused the apocalypse. Five began calculating the things Will could do with light. There was a lot if their theory was correct. For now though, they were going to have to wait for him to wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured it was a good place to end. I would have added more but then this chapter would have been way longer than the others lol.


	7. Magic of Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five and Mike argue, Five hates that he can feel things, and plans are made.  
> Kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait. But it's here now. :D

Five stared softly at Will’s sleeping form. It was currently eight PM, and everyone was quieting down for the night. The gang was having a movie night, since it was Friday, and Joyce had allowed all the kids to stay overnight for Will. Will, who still hadn’t woken up from his faint that happened at around ten o’clock AM. He still seemed to be at peace though. Had been the whole time. That was the strange part. Though, maybe not if what Pogo had said is true. That Will is discovering a new power. Maybe it was finally making itself known and it was taking a while for his body to get used to it. Using powers can take up more energy. Perhaps Will had been unknowingly using it just before he fainted. Since he never had used it before, it was too much for him. It made sense. Five just wanted him to wake up though. Tell him if he knew what was happening, or what he was feeling. He can’t stand waiting. Especially if it was waiting for someone he cared deeply about to _wake up from a coma!_

Five sighed quietly and leaned forward. He brushed some hair away from Will’s eyes. They _had_ looked beautiful when they were glowing. If it were a part of his power, Five would gladly accept it.

“Don’t.”

Five looked up to see Mike standing in the doorway of the living room. He must have come up to get something from the kitchen. He didn’t look too happy. Shit. Will had mentioned how Mike’s parents were. Superficial and all that crap. What if Mike was…? But he was so nice. How… why…

“What do you mean?” Five demanded. He grew tense as Mike stepped into the room. He glared at Five and stepped between him and Will.

“Don’t _touch_ him. Will doesn’t like you like that. I can see it. Don’t take this the wrong way, I don’t care who he does like. But he doesn’t like _you_. So _don_ _’t_.” Mike seethed.

Ah. So he wasn’t homophobic as Five feared. He is just being a dick.

“How do you know what Will likes? That should be up to him. And all I want, is for him to be happy. I get why you don’t like me-”

“I don’t think you do.”

“I’m not exactly a people person.”

Mike scoffed.

“But I do genuinely care about Will. I care about his safety, his happiness. So if you’ve got a problem with that then fuck off and deal with it.”

“Things were fine until you came along. Jane closed the gate, and things were _fine_. Then you came. Then I find _this_.” Mike brought out the picture of the scorpion Will drew the day before. Fuck. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he fainted. Mike picked it up. He was right there too. Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ -

“Tell me this is just some drawing he’d done and nothing more. That it’s just a drawing. Not real.”

Five sighed. Of _course_ this would happen. God… Why now? He liked being alone with Will. Why couldn’t Mike just… let things be?

“It is real. Will hasn’t seen it yet. I’d prefer to _keep it_ that way. As I’ve said, I care about him. He asked me to describe it so that you guys knew what it looked like before you did anything _stupid_. Luther and I saw it in the woods the night before. This thing… it’s _huge_ Mike. It _flies_.”

“You didn’t think to bring it up earlier? Anything regarding the Upside Down is important Five!”

“You think I don’t know that?! We didn’t get the chance to bring it up because right before we were going to, Will discovered a new power. That seemed more important at the time, don’t you think?”

“What if this is happening because of the Upside Down?! What if the Mind Flare still has a connection to him that none of us know about?”

“Then we’ll stop it! You’ve got more people with powers this time! But if you think you’re going in there, forget it!”

“Why because I’m weak?!”

“Technically yes! You don’t appear to possess a power. If there are more of those things out there, you guys don’t stand a chance. It’ll kill you before you even _think_ about striking first. You haven’t seen this thing Mike. You don’t know anything about it.”

“I’m not just gonna stand by and let my friends get hurt. I can’t do that. But don’t even think you can just cast me aside you fucking-”

“STOP IT.”

The light bulb in the ceiling light above them shattered into pieces. Five and Mike covered their eyes as the tiny bits of glass fell on top of them and all over the room. Fuck. What-

Five realized then that the both of them were ready to throw punches. Mike had his fist raised, and Five was ready to deflect. His hands glowing blue. But also- they were tied together in a pair of super black handcuffs. It looked like a shadow had wrapped around his wrists. And his ankles, as he looked down. They were keeping him in place. Keeping him from attacking Mike, or dodging Mike’s attacks. Speaking of Mike, his wrists were tied too, though it was more like the shadows were trying to tie him to the floor. His one hand was still in the air, while the other was just waving around as Mike tried to figure out what was happening. His ankles were tied too. That’s when Five saw Will.

He was sitting upright on the couch just behind Mike, who now saw him as well, and was looking fairly angry. His iris’s, while they had been glowing gold earlier, were now glowing a deep dark black. They weren’t reflecting _any_ light. Five swallowed. Guess Pogo’s theory of a new power was right. Only it wasn’t just one.

It was _two_.

Will was controlling the shadows around them. His right hand was clenched into a fist. Dark shadows surrounding it, and his other hand, much like how Five’s blue light would surround his hands. Looks like Five didn’t have to wait any longer.

“Will…” Mike said. His voice shook. Will stood up, and Mike took a step back, colliding with Five, who collided with the coffee table.

“Fucking… watch it.” Five muttered. He tried to move Mike out of the way so he could see Will, but Mike was taller than him, and he was also frozen in place. Though he didn’t know if it was because of the shadows, or because of fear. Five knows what’s like to be frozen with fear. He tried spatial jumping instead, but found that the shadows overpowered him. Wow, that was a first. At least it was Will, and not an enemy.

“Stop fighting. Five is right Mike. It’d be too dangerous. Five didn’t want to tell you guys at first. In fact he begged me to not say anything.” Will said carefully.

 _I wouldn_ _’t put it_ _that way_ _. I didn_ _’t_ _beg_ _… Not that much anyway…_ Five cleared his head. Now wasn’t the time for pride. If only he could move out from behind Mike. This table was killing his legs. Damn shortness.

“I…” Mike started but trailed off. He seemed to be unsure of what to say.

_Ha, take that prick._

Now if he’d just _move_ -

“Mike. You’re my _best friend_. But don’t think for a second that you know what I like. _Who_ I like. You don’t know Five like I do. Don’t judge him as though you do.”

Five tried to see past Mike, but he couldn’t move. He was being squished here. He even tried pushing Mike, but now it seemed like Mike was being held in place by Will’s shadows. God damn it. Mike sighed as Five tried pushing him again. He couldn’t. Frustrated, he sighed and just started hitting Mike in the back. He was annoyed, and wanted to annoy someone, so sue him.

“Can you please move me so he’s not hitting me?” Mike groaned. Finally. Fuck, it took him long enough.

Mike let out a yelp as he was suddenly thrown onto the floor. Five snickered as Mike groaned.

“Sorry! Sorry. I didn’t mean that. I’m not really sure what I’m doing to be honest.” Will said. The darkness around their wrists and ankles disappeared, as did the ones around Will’s hands. His eyes returned to their lovely brown colour instead of the jet black they were a few seconds ago. But instead of the cheerfulness they usually had, they were sad and tired.

Five may or may not have blamed Mike for it.

Will looked at him, and while he looked sad, he smiled softly. He moved to stand up, but wobbled as soon as he did so. Five quickly balanced him and sat him back down.

“I’d take it easy. You just used a lot of power and it’s still so new to you.” Five said quietly. Mike stood up and sat in the chair as Will sighed.

“How are you feeling?” Mike asked.

“Just tired mostly. But other than that fine.”

The three of them sat there in a tired silence. Mike tried not to glare at Five who now had an arm around Will’s shoulder, and instead stared at the floor. Despite Five wanting to know what his problem with him was, (and despite his knowing why,) Will was much more important at the moment. It would appear that Will not only had a power that had to do with the sun, or light, he also could control shadows. It kind of made sense actually, they were opposites. Where there was light, there was darkness. Light appeared first, and the darkness after. While Will didn’t exactly control any form of light, it had been there. The power. He’d seen it in his eyes. They _glowed_ gold. If it was anything like the darkness, Will could probably manipulate any form of light. Considering the light bulb blew up.

 _They should probably clean up all the glass shards soon_ _…_ he thought as he glanced at the mess. Yeah wouldn’t want anyone stepping on it and cutting themselves. Even if it were Mike, Five knew he didn’t _really_ deserve to be injured. He _was_ a good person, he just made mistakes like everyone else.

“Why is it always me?” Will muttered with a sigh. He ran a hand through his messy hair. He didn’t seem to be afraid or anything, mostly just annoyed. “If I have powers, _why_ didn’t they show up earlier? Would have been nice to have in the Upside Down for God sake.”

“Hey Mike you got the- whoa. What?” Max stood there in shock as she took in the broken bulb. There was a beat of silence before she spoke again. “Should I get the others?”

“Probably. I guess you guys should know.” Will replied with a shrug. Max nodded, and looked a little worried, Five can’t blame her really, and quickly went back downstairs. Within a few minutes, everyone was once again gathered in the living room. They were careful enough to not step on the glass thankfully. Mike stood up and sat on the couch, reluctantly beside Five.

“Okay. Apparently I can control shadows too. Oh the light bulb was me, not the Upside Down.” Will said, gesturing to the now empty socket.

“Thank God.” Dustin sighed in relief.

“So what does this mean, do you have two powers, or what?” Joyce asked. She walked over to Will and sat on the arm of the couch. Will shrugged.

“I have no idea.” he said.

“Well it would probably be beneficial to do a few tests. See what you can do. I am curious though, as to why the bulb exploded in the first place?” Pogo asked.

“Oh, when I woke up, Five and Mike were arguing about- uh- something, and I got mad.” Will said, glancing at the two boys next to him. Mike looked a little ashamed, while Five looked tried to _not_ look ashamed in front of the others. He could do it in front of Will, but he still instinctively created the mask when the others were around. Will just made him feel so comfortable with himself. It was slightly terrifying how much his feelings affected him.

“Wait, what the heck were you guys fighting about?” Lucas asked. It was strange to see Mike fighting with someone, unless it was an enemy. Five and Mike glanced at each other, unsure if they should say anything. Considering Mike’s reaction, it won’t go over too well. Five sighed. He _was_ going to do it anyway. Might as well get it over with. Five reached for the picture that had fallen on the floor when Mike was tied up. He put it face up on the table and turned it towards the others. They mostly looked confused. Aside from Luther who looked worried.

“Uh, that’s a good drawing and all, but what _is_ it?” Dustin asked. Luther sighed.

“It’s a creature from the Upside Down.”

“Oh please tell me you’re joking.”

“Nope.”

“Shit.”

“So is it real then?” Joyce asked. She looked much more worried now.

“Unfortunately, yes. Luther and I saw it in the woods the other night. There was just one but… considering the past events, there could be more.” Five explained. He subconsciously grew tense and brought Will closer. He glanced at Jane, who suddenly came to mind, and she looked just as worried. Jane had the most experience with the other world more than any of them. It was clear that she was traumatized from it, much like Five had been.

 _Maybe I should try to talk to her more_ _…_ After all, she too probably had a similar experience as him and Will.

Five found his gaze going to the picture. Even though it was upside down, he was still reminded of the real thing. Having _that_ image in his head now, he began experiencing the fear from that moment. The creature only looked like it wanted to kill. That it was made to hunt. Which it probably was.

“So what exactly do we do? Find more? Go back to the lab? Jane closed the gate so they shouldn’t even be here.” Mike said. He had a point. Not that Five was willing to admit it.

“Some of us should go to the lab. Just to see if it’s still closed. If there still no one there because there _shouldn_ _’t_ _be_. They either died, or just left because of the government.” Lucas said.

“Sounds good. We should split up into groups. Half go one way, half go the other.” Allison said. With that said, they split up.

Five, Will, Mike, Joyce, Diego, Vanya, and Jane were one group. Klaus, Ben, Luther, Dustin, Lucas, Allison and Max were the other group. Since it was late in the evening, plans would have to wait until the next day, which was fair in Five’s mind. They needed rest. And by they, he meant Will, the others could do whatever. So long as they didn’t disturb Will, he honestly didn’t care.

Just as they were going to go back to the movie downstairs, the front door opened and four teenagers walked in.

“Hey mom, we’re… back…” one of them, Five assumed to be Jonathan, Will’s brother, trailed off as soon as he saw Five and his family. Right… they hadn’t met yet. The teenagers had gone camping.

“Is that an… _ape_?” one of the other boy teenagers asked. He looked like one of those unrealistic bullies in the early eighties movies. It looked odd despite them actually _being_ in the eighties. He had the fucking mullet and leather jacket for fuck sake! Five wanted to laugh, but it wasn’t exactly the time to do so.

“I am. I’d prefer to be called Pogo, or Dr. Pogo young man.” Pogo huffed, and pointed his cane at mullet boy with a small glare. Mullet boy looked surprised when he’d spoke, but said nothing and nodded. He took a step back, behind the other boy. The other boy, Five had to admit he had great hair. Much better than mullet boy. He dressed in regular clothes that looked only a _little_ nerdy.

The girl basically looked like ‘the girl next door’ in movies. She was wearing a nice dress that made her look innocent. Her hair was long and slightly curled, and didn’t wear makeup. But Five figured camping didn’t require much make up unless you wanted to use a shitty tiny ass mirror. She stood close to Jonathan, and Five realized that this was his girlfriend Nancy. Will talked about her often. She was also Mike’s older sister. The nerdy boy had to be Steve then. Apparently after the Upside Down stuff, he’d joined the team and became the babysitter. As for mullet boy, he had to be Billy. Max’s brother. He’d been a bully and a pretty shit person in general. He’d gotten caught up in the Upside Down events though and according to Will, had somewhat redeemed himself. He was still working on it though. Five couldn’t help but noticed how close Billy and Steve were standing. Much closer than _friends_ would. It made Five wonder if the camping trip had been less of a friends getaway, and more of a double date type thing.

The two groups stood in an awkward silence then Joyce finally cleared her throat.

“Right. Things happened when you guys were camping. I’ll explain.” she said. And she did. Everything. From their arrival, to the light bulb explosion. Guess these teens were trustworthy. But given the Upside Down, it was a given. The only things she left out were the details she didn’t know. But she didn’t _have_ to know them in Five’s opinion. Some things were better left unsaid.

“Okay… okay…” Nancy muttered. They’d all sat back down as Joyce had explained. The teenagers grabbed chairs from the kitchen seeing as there weren’t enough for nineteen people in the living room. And fuck, that was a lot of people to know about this. “So you guys are from another universe, or world. You have powers like Jane. You don’t know why you’re here. Things were fine until a day or so ago. Luther and Five- uh,” she was apparently still getting used to his name, “saw some other form of the demodogs in the woods. And… Will has powers too? More than one? God this is a lot…” she sighed and leaned on Jonathan who wrapped an arm around her.

“What are your powers?” he asked Will. Will shrugged.

“We think it’s the abilities to control light and darkness. We don’t really know much yet though.” Mike explained. Jonathan nodded.

“Cool.”

Will gave a shy smile. He started to demonstrate his darkness control, but he grew slightly dizzy and it faded away. Guess he’d burned himself out earlier. Figuring out limits was tricky the first time around. You have to gain control and understand it to gain more power and energy. Five automatically put a hand on his shoulder. Yes, he noticed the look Jonathan and Steve gave him. They probably noticed how close _he and Will_ were sitting. He wasn’t bothered by it. If anyone had a problem with him, they can fuck right off. Then again, Jonathan would probably just make that- ‘I’m the big brother so I have to look out for my younger one. If you hurt him you’re gonna die.’ thing. Steve maybe too. He was the babysitter after all.

After a while, the gang decided to go back to the movie, and leave things for the morning. The teenagers were tired from their long trip, each of them having taken turns driving for quite a long time, as well as just experience in general.

Five somehow doubted they got much sleep if each couple was in different tents. His neck grew warm at the sudden thought and he banished them from his mind. Now was _so_ not the time. Right now he just wanted to sleep. Or pretend to sleep. Maybe with Will. The warmth came back and crept up his neck. His palms became sweaty. Shit. But not in _that way, God!_

And now he was thinking about… that. With Will.

God no. Not now. Damn brain! God damn feelings! He’s never even _kissed_ anyone before! He shouldn’t even be thinking like this. He blamed his thirteen-year-old body even though, he’s pretty sure it has nothing to do with it this time. Feelings maybe but the thoughts…

Speaking of Will he realized he’d been staring. Fuck. But Will either didn’t notice- somehow- or didn’t mind. He simply watched the others walk to the stairs. Finally it was just them and Mike. Mike who for some reason hadn’t left, that bastard. First he-

“I’m sorry.”

Oh. What?

Five blinked and looked at him, Will did the same. Mike wasn’t looking at them, but instead the floor again. His hands were clasped together tightly on his lap. He looked nervous. Good. Five wasn’t one to forgive easily.

“Come again?” Five said. Will nudged him. Right. Will was his friend too. Of course he’d be defensive. Oddly enough a stab of guilt shot through his heart. Again- damn feelings. He shut up for once and let Mike continue.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said any of that. I momentarily forgot how much shit you went through, and I didn’t have a right. I’m not in charge of anybody. I know that. And I know I shouldn’t have talked like I knew what Will wants to do with his life. I was in the wrong. So, I’m sorry. I threw the first hit. I’m pissed that we have to deal with the Upside Down again. I mean we can’t let others do it, they don’t know what we know. I am sorry for what I said and how I acted. But, I’m still not just going to stand by and do nothing. I have to help _in some way_. It doesn’t have to be just you guys. You’re not alone in this. So _please_ let us help.” Mike finally looked at him and Five knew he wasn’t going to give up.

He was also… unfortunately familiar with these words. During the first few months of his families redo, Five had to get used to having help. His family would almost constantly remind him that he was no longer alone, and that he wasn’t weak for needing help. Especially if he was injured. Which was a lot, even if he wasn’t an assassin anymore and no longer had people after him. He proved that it was pointless so they eventually gave up. But despite all that, he injured himself almost on a daily basis. It was never disastrous, just small cuts and bruises. It was still annoying though. He even had some bruises he didn’t remember getting. His damn child skin must be sensitive. He _did_ react to certain lotions… hm…

Point is, Mike’s little speech reminded him of how hard his siblings are trying. How hard _he_ _’s_ trying. Fucking… If Mike was going to try… at least it was to be a better person. Or at least helpful. Then Five supposed he would too. It was only fair. Plus you know, it’d give him some points with Will. That was just an added bonus.

“Okay. I’m not saying I forgive you yet. But I won’t stop you from helping. If you wanna put your life at risk for others… then it’s your decision. You _do_ have some knowledge and experience of these things. It really would help. Just be careful if you want to actually live.”

Will’s hand suddenly laid on top of his thigh and Five felt the heat coming back. He just knew it was a blush. Fuck, he could never control that around Will! Shit, not in front of _Mike!_ He’d never hear the end of it for sure. Certainly it’d be worse than his siblings. Will did this intentionally didn’t he? He… did he know? Fuck… Five’s heart thumped with a strange nervousness he was _not_ familiar with. At all. He never got nervous. But for some reason, this did it.

Mike stood up and walked in front of Five. He stuck his hand out. “We good?”

“Yeah. For now.” Five nodded. He took Mike’s hand and shook it. Mike finally left and now it was just him and Will. Will, having been quiet and still the whole time, suddenly lunged at Five, and wrapped his arms around him. The heat on his neck moved up rapidly to his face. His whole body was warm form the hug. It seemed much more intense than before now that he knew what these feelings were. He was sure that Will knew. He couldn’t be _that_ oblivious. Five ignored his feelings and hugged back.

“I’m glad you’re giving him a chance. He’s not that bad really. He just gets defensive. But he is a good person.” Will said. “You also don’t know each other like I know you guys. I’ve been best friends with Mike for years. And you…” Will seemed to hesitate, and Five’s heart nearly burst. “I just feel really close to you. It may not have been that long, but… I’ve shared details with you more than my own family. Things that Mike doesn’t even know. You’ve helped me in ways they haven’t and you still are.”

Five thought he might explode like the light bulb. His face felt so hot, well, his entire body did, but his face was much more intense. He was red wasn’t he? God damn it. He’s never hugged for this long before. Since it was Will, he kind of didn’t want to let go.

“Y-yeah. It’s the same with me. I…” Five hated his stutter. “You’ve gotten me to open up so much more than anyone. I don’t think I could survive without you.”

Well fuck. That might as well have been a fucking _confession_. He didn’t mean to say that much! Will pulled away from him. Fuck. He messed things up didn’t he? When he didn’t look up to meet Will’s eyes, Will cupped the side of his burning face and lifted it up himself. Shit. But when he looked into Will’s eyes he only saw… something he couldn’t recognize. Five’s mind suddenly froze and he didn’t know what to do. In fact, his whole body froze. Not with fear though… he didn’t actually know why. He was just… lost. In Will.

“Five…” Will whispered.

“Guys you’re missing it! Come _on_! We’re not gonna rewind the last scene again.” Dustin’s voice scared the shit out of them and they jumped apart as if they were burned. Five might as well have been though. Leave it to Dustin to ruin a good moment. Not that he knew where it was going. Will was going to say something, at least that’s what Five thought. It looked like it. Whether or not it was good or bad, Five didn’t know. That made him feel very nervous. He was sure that he ruined… whatever this was.

Will sighed. “Dustin…” he mumbled quietly so only Five could hear. “Yeah! We’re coming.”

Five stood up quickly as Dustin ran back down the stairs. Will grabbed his hand as he also stood up. Five almost didn’t want to know what he had wanted to say.

“I-I guess we should… go.” Five mumbled awkwardly. Will stood in front of him, blocking the way.

“Yeah. In a bit. For the record Five-” Will cupped both sides of his face and stood very close. Five swallowed nervously. Will leaned in, and Five anxiously thought they were going to _kiss_ , but Will moved a little past his face. The next sentence was whispered into his ear, making him shiver. “I could never survive without _you_ either.”

Five didn’t know what the hell he was supposed to do. Will moved away, he had that damn smirk on his face and Five felt like he’d been set on fire. He just stood there looking so dumb. What the hell was he _supposed to do?!_ His mind was blank, and his body was frozen (ironically enough considering the heat radiating off of him.) When he finally registered Will’s face, he did notice that his cheeks were also kind of pink. But nowhere near to what Five probably looked like.

Then Will just walked away, down the stairs, to the basement.

What. The. Fuck.

Five just stood there and watched him leave. He didn’t even give a proper response! He didn’t even know what the fuck just happened. He stood there for the next few moments trying to cool down and get collected. He couldn’t go down there looking like an idiot. It was about twenty minutes before he gained the courage to move. He let out a shaky sigh. Did he not know how to handle anything anymore? Surely one boy couldn’t cause him so much trouble. But it did. He’ll figure this out eventually. Maybe. Hopefully…

He numbly walked down the stairs. He was almost like a robot. But even Grace walked better. What had Will just done to him?

Luckily no one seemed to notice him, or cared enough to look his way. He sat down next to Will- he looked way too smug. He knew he’d done something to Five. Once he sat down, Will shuffled closer until they were touching. It’s like he’d been set on fire again. God he hated this. He couldn’t focus on the movie even if he tried. All he could do was focus on how close he was to Will. Will knew it too the bastard. He was a hell of a lot smarter than Five originally gave him credit for.

Someone leaned into him from behind.

“You figure it out yet?” Klaus whispered quietly.

“Shut. Up.” Five mumbled.

“Sweet. Dustin owes me ten bucks!”

What…

FUCKING-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, Billy is on his way to redemption. Not quite there yet, but it's always an uphill battle. Usually anyway.  
> Also I feel like Will could be smooth AF if he really knows the other person.


	8. That Warm Fuzzy Feeling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit happens.

The next two days were filled with mostly training for Will and Vanya. Vanya was learning quickly thankfully, and Will was struggling a little to learn just what he can actually do. It was quite incredible. He controlled _two_ elements, light and darkness. Light seemed to be hard to learn about and control. Will had managed to easily control the shadows around him, and create weapons out of them. It was pretty cool. He couldn’t use both at the same time though. Not yet anyway. Five suspected that it might be possible, he just probably had to be really strong for it to work. Will was getting stronger every day though. Each day, he managed to learn a new thing he could do. With shadows and just darkness in general. Turns out Will was strongest with darkness if he was in a completely pitch black room. It made sense. Only Will could see what he was doing though. He gained some kind of night vision along with his powers. Maybe it was just the light power though, making him able to see in pitch black darkness.

His eyes still changed colours when he used his gifts. When he used darkness, they turned completely black. Like how one would picture a demon that took over someone’s body. Will didn’t look scary though. Somehow Five wasn’t as bothered now that he knew why it was happening. The first time was shocking, he hadn’t expected it at all. He actually worried that a demon really _had_ taken over him. But he was glad that wasn’t the case. He still looked beautiful to Five. Something about those dark eyes lured him in and got him in a trance. More so than his normal hazel green eyes. He just got lost in them.

God Five really had it bad. His siblings teased him like he knew they would. It was tormenting. Five’s face would be on fire each time they did it when Will was _just_ out of hearing range. Five sometimes worried that he still heard them. With Will’s new powers, Five’s feelings for him only grew. But he was still so new at this, at _feeling_ things, he barely knew how to act around Will. He’d catch himself staring often enough that it was embarrassing. Sometimes one of his siblings caught him. Nudged him in the ribs to snap him out of it before Will caught him. His brothers often did it while snickering, which made his face heat up. He just didn’t know how to deal with this. At first he wanted the feelings completely _gone_. Then he’d think of Will. Then he’d remember how feelings actually worked. Five would often grow frustrated at himself. Especially at night. They were still living with the Byers, Grace and Pogo were having a hard time finding a house for them. It wasn’t a great time for real estate apparently. Either way, Five both loved and hated it.

Mainly because he’s the one that slept in Will’s room. With Will. In _his_ bed. He supposed they didn’t _have_ to share the bed. But Will had a hard time allowing him to sleep anywhere else in the room. Five was also finding it hard to say no to Will. For anything. Damn feelings. No matter what he did, or at least, tried to do, he’d always end up agreeing to whatever Will said. Even his siblings noticed. He’s sure that even Pogo and Grace noticed. He wondered if Will’s friends noticed. They hadn’t said anything yet. Klaus said that the Hargreeves family knew for sure, because _of course_. Five had learned that just after Will had managed to make him fucking speechless just before they sat down to finish the movie. Fucking… that memory always made Five’s face heat up like crazy. He still felt Will’s breath on his ear. It still made him shiver.

He’s positive now that even Will himself knows. Thing is… Five has no idea if he feels the same way. Knowing that Will knows makes him feel nervous. What if Will just likes the attention and doesn’t actually feel anything towards him in that way? Vanya said to not worry about it. That Will wouldn’t be like that. Five knows that. Will is too kind to play with feelings like that. Still… he hadn’t shown any kind of reciprocation either. At least, not to Five’s knowledge. Was he looking for the wrong things? What if he was showing it all along, and Five was just blind?

Five would always end up thinking of how Will kept touching him. How close he always seemed to be. How he’d tell Five things that no one else knew. Were those signs? Maybe. But friends did that too. Five wanted to ask someone, Vanya, or Ben… but he was too embarrassed. He, the one with all the knowledge, knew next to _nothing_ about romantic relationships. Hell the closest one he ever had was with a fucking mannequin. Will still didn't know  _that one_ yet. Five wasn't sure he could ever admit it to anyone else. It seemed so weird now.

He still missed her. Even if it was weird, he missed her. He knew that she wasn’t real. That she wasn’t human. That it was all in his fucking head because time travel messed him up. Fucking time travel…

Five suddenly felt an elbow gently nudge him. He looked to his right to see Will. It was currently late in the evening, and the two were just lying on the bed. Five had been reading a comic book Will lent him, but he’d been stuck on the same page for… thirty minutes. Oh. He looked into Will’s beautiful hazel green eyes and saw concern.

“You okay? You’ve been spaced out for like, half an hour. Did you… were you back there?” Will asked hesitantly. Five smiled and shook his head.

“No. Don’t worry. It wasn’t anything about that. Just lost in thought.”

Will nodded and smiled. Five noted that the concern had vanished. He looked so beautiful. Five’s heart swooped whenever Will smiled.

He _needed_ to get control over this.

“What were you thinking about?” Will asked. He inched closer and their hands touched, and their sides were now touching as well, making Five feel all tingly. It was like his side had fallen asleep, but it was a much better feeling than if it actually had fallen asleep. He craved it all the time. Klaus called him touch-starved, but it wasn’t necessarily true since before everything, he never let a single person touch him.

Until Will. Will had sparked something new in him probably the moment he… oh. Right. They actually didn’t like each other when they first met. Will held him at gunpoint. But really, it wasn’t long after that Five began to feel different. He remembered noting how handsome Will was. How nice his smile was. His eyes… Five stared into them, getting lost.

Five was convinced that the universe had a mind of its own now, and decided to force him and Will together even if they were from different universes. But at least someone cared… Then again, the universe still loved to fuck him over time and again. Even in this world.

Take the Upside Down for instance. Five had never been there, he should probably thank the universe for that one, but he could see from Will that it’s horrible. That nobody should have to go there. Even for one second.

“Five?”

“What?”

“You spaced again. You sure you’re okay?” Will said again. Shit. Right. He had. God damn it… he didn’t want to tell the truth. It’d basically be confessing. No way in hell was he going to do that. Even if Will already knew. Will brought his hand up and cupped the side of his face. His cheeks grew warm at the touch. Will did that quite often when they were alone. Five’s cheeks were probably always turning a bright pink when he did it. His face always felt warm and fuzzy. He kind of wondered if the warmth came from Will’s power of light. Light was warmth after all.

“So nothing bad?” Will asked. His voice was soft and gentle. Five’s heart leaped and he smiled.

“Nothing bad. Promise.” Five leaned into Will’s touch. Will smiled.

There were a few moments of silence as they laid there comfortably close to each other. Will’s hand was still holding his face. At some point Will’s other hand managed to find his and one of them had laced their fingers. Five wasn’t sure which one did it, but it didn’t matter. He felt like his chest might explode from all the emotions he was feeling. He was getting dizzy. But it was the good kind of dizzy. He could stay here forever.

“I’ve been meaning to ask…” Will said. His voice was quiet. It wasn’t unsure or weary though. It was almost… confident. Five saw Will’s eyes dart down to his lips. He swallowed nervously. He didn’t know how to kiss.

“Five, do you have-” His heart thumped rapidly. He knew. Will _knew_ , and was going to get him to confess! Fuck!

A loud shriek slash hiss echoed outside.

Fuck.

Will and Five shot up and stared out the window. They couldn’t see anything. But they _heard_ it. It was out there. Somewhere.

“Will?!”

The bedroom door shot open as Jonathan looked ready to kill something. He heard it too. They all must have.

“It really is real. Fuck…” Jonathan hissed beneath his breath. “You see anything?”

“No. There’s nothing. But it’s out there. We just… Will?” Five looked at Will, and froze. Will’s eyes were closed, his hand was on the window’s glass. He looked like he was focusing on something. On what… on…

He was trying to find it. It was _dark_ outside. He was using the darkness to try and find it. Or something, Five couldn’t exactly read minds now. He wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to break Will’s concentration. There looked as though there was a dark aura around his body. His strength was getting stronger. It’s the first time Five’s seeing this aura. Actually, when he looked at his hand lying flat against the window, he saw frost forming around it. That made sense, he was warm when he used light, and cold when he used darkness.

“Will…” Jonathan started to say, but Five shushed him.

“Don’t break his concentration. We need learn everything about his powers. This is new.” he explained. He didn’t even spare the big brother a glance. He knew Jonathan understood though, as he’d grown quiet. He didn’t even move from his spot by the door. It was a few agonizing seconds before something else happened. Will finally opened his dark black eyes, and looked up. He moved his hand slightly on the window, and his eyes slowly turned to gold. The dark aura around him also turned gold. Five stared. He couldn’t help it. Will was glowing. _Literally_. Like he was an angel. He couldn’t get distracted now though. Five had to focus on what he was actually doing. The frost on the window had melted already, the moment he changed powers.

“Whoa. Look. Outside.” Jonathan walked closer and was staring out the window in awe. Five looked, and _wow_.

Will had located the creatures. There _had_ been more. Eight by the looks of it. Shit that was close. They were the scorpions too, not the dogs. Luckily they were all closer to the forest, but it looked like they were initially heading for the house. For them. Will had them all captured in shadows though. He’s still able to control it while using light. Interesting. Speaking of which, he was using the moonlight, since the sun had gone down. He was fucking burning those bitches alive. Five could see the bits of smoke from their bodies. Their screams filled the air making him and Jonathan flinch. It only lasted a few seconds. Will burned them alive in a few _seconds_.

Five ignored the weird feeling that came over him as he stared out the window. He briefly remembered the strange trance he'd gotten caught in with the scorpion. He cleared those thoughts away and focused on Will.

“I knew it, it _is_ him!” And Mike’s voice broke Five’s focus.

He turned to see everyone else standing in the doorway. Right, they would have heard the creatures too. Soon the screams stopped as the creatures became ash. It was over in an instant. Will’s golden glow disappeared, but he still looked beautiful. His eyes slowly changed back to normal. He looked tired, but not quite as much as the first time he’d used the darkness. He really was getting quite strong. Five wondered if he had _any_ limits at all. Will glanced out the window and smiled at Five.

“Dude that was awesome!” Dustin exclaimed. Will jumped slightly, not realizing they were there. He smiled, and looked somewhat shy. Five’s heart pounded. He couldn’t help but smile in return.

“They’re gone for now.” Will said.

“How are you feeling?” Jonathan asked.

“Good. Not as tired as I was before.”

“You’re getting really strong. Makes me wonder what your limit is.” Luther commented.

“How many of those things were there?” Diego asked.

“Eight. But they were those scorpion things. Not the dogs.” Will replied.

Five selfishly wished the others would leave so he could be alone with Will again. He was smarter, and could analyze things faster.

Plus he wanted to know what Will was going to say before, despite his nervousness. Joyce turned out to be his saving grace. She ushered everyone out and told them to get ready for the night. Besides, Will needed rest after that. He was strong, but this was still so new.

On her way out, Vanya quickly shot Five a knowing look, with a small smile. Five could feel the heat in his face come back. He still hadn’t actually said anything about _this_ to any of his siblings. Not even Vanya. It just made him embarrassed, not that he’d ever admit it.

But back to the matter at hand.

“What exactly did you do?” Five asked, looking at Will. Will shrugged.

“I just looked for them. It wasn’t really the night vision. It was like… a tracking device. I could _feel them_ in the darkness. I don’t really know how else to explain it. I could feel things that are in the dark. Feel their presence. Their weight. I could kind of get an outline of them that way. Then I just used the moonlight and burned them. I didn’t have time to think of anything else. I’d only hold them back for so long. But they’re gone now. So for a while at least, we don’t have to worry about them.”

“Interesting… You might be just as powerful as Vanya is. Or more considering we don’t know your limits yet.”

Will suddenly frowned.

“Five… do you think I could cause an apocalypse?”

Something in his voice makes Five’s heart break. He didn’t mean…

“I don’t know. But don’t think about that.”

Five started to reach his hand out, but hesitated. He’s never the one to touch first. He doesn’t know why, it’s just a fact. Even before the apocalypse he’d always been like that. Never liked touching. Five swallowed. His hand shook only slightly, it was barely even there. Finally he just went, fuck it, in his mind, and grabbed Will’s hand. He might have grabbed it too suddenly, too roughly. Squeezed too tightly. Five was never really _gentle_. He tried to be, with Will, an even with Vanya and Ben. Even Klaus. But… he felt as though he’d always do something wrong. His face grew hot in embarrassment. He looked away, but felt Will take his hand and lace their fingers. Five felt like he succeeded this time. Kind of. He let out a small breath of relief. Will shifted and used his other hand to bring his head up. He was smiling. Five’s pulse sped up. The heat was spreading throughout his body.

“Thank you.” Will said quietly.

And suddenly they were back to their moment. Alone, quiet, close. Five wanted to ask but, he was too scared of the answer. It seemed like they were staring at each other forever. Five swallowed when Will spoke.

“Uh, about earlier, before the _thing_ happened… I- I was going to ask…”

Will stopped, and Five just wanted to shake the words out of him. Even if he knew what it was he was going to ask. He needed to be sure. He swallowed again. The nervousness was coming back. His body felt oddly weak. Like he was being weighed down by something.

“Five. Do you have feelings for me?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Then again, the universe still loved to fuck him over time and again. Even in this world."  
> Sorry not sorry Five. lol Shit happens man. Shit happens.  
> You guys know how it is. :D
> 
> Sorry if the Upside Down part feels a bit slow, but don't worry, shit will happen lol. I'll stop saying that now.


	9. Burn Baby Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will is getting stronger by the day, in more ways than one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Told ya it'd be out soon.  
> Here ya go. :D

Will’s eyes bore into his and he froze. He knew it was this. He _knew_ it. Just… He didn’t know how to deal with it.

“I-I…” he stuttered. He looked away, unable to meet Will’s eyes. His face was hotter. What would Will even say in response if he said yes? Will forced his head up gently. He was smiling. His eyes were shining brighter than usual. Without the light power that is. He swallowed.

“Y-Yes. I-” Five took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, “I do. I have feelings for you.”

God now what? He couldn’t breathe properly. His whole body was on fire. It was suffocating.

“I thought so.” Will replied. Five’s face was burning up. Was Will doing that with his power, or was it just him? Apparently literally everyone else knew. He _kind of_ suspected that Will knew, and had been taking advantage of it. But not in a bad way, Will wasn’t that type of person. The only problem was that Will had figured out pretty quickly how to get Five all flustered and speechless. Will’s smile was wider now.

“Am I… your first?” That one Will asked hesitantly. Five didn’t really know why, but he nodded anyway. “That’s good. I don’t have to worry about anyone else.”

Five blinked. What the hell did that mean? He just let out a lame, “Huh?” Will snorted.

“I’m saying I like you too you idiot.”

“Oh. _Oh_ … um…” Five’s chest felt like it could burst. He really felt like an idiot at this point.

Suddenly he was aware of just how _hot_ he’d become. He realized it wasn’t related to his feelings. Not all of it at least. It couldn’t be Will because he’d know, wouldn’t he?

“Five? Hey, what’s wrong? You must have some kind of fever. Lay down. Here. I can try and cool you off.”

Five did as Will said, but not before he took off the light jacket he’d been wearing. He wanted to take everything off. It was _too hot fucking-_

He tried to focus on what Will was doing. He was using the darkness again, but this time he was going to try something new. Again. Five remembered the glass on the window frost up when he’d used the darkness to find the scorpions. If it could make the window frost up in the summer, then why not use it to cool down a fever? Five couldn’t help the small smile on his face. He probably looked delirious to Will though. He’d briefly given him a confused expression, before activating the darkness. He placed one palm on his forehead, and the other on his chest. With fevers they were the most important areas. Five watched as the shadows around them came together around Will’s hands. He felt the cold that irradiated from them. It felt _really_ good.

“Okay why are you smiling? You’re sick.” Will asked. He didn’t normally converse with people when he was using his powers. He usually needed to concentrate a lot. Maybe this task was much simpler than Five thought.

“You. You’re a genius. _I_ didn’t even think of this. That the light and dark would have healing powers.” Now that he knows they both know about his feelings, and that Will fucking feels the same way, fuck, (he still wasn’t over that,) he felt a little more comfortable with it. He still had no idea what to do, but he no longer had to hide. At least with Will. As if he was going to tell everyone. Okay, yeah, they’d have to eventually. Either that or they’d figure it out themselves. Considering how they probably knew before _Five_ even knew, God damn it. He’ll never live _that one_ down.

He smiled though when Will suddenly blushed a bright pink. He’d seen him blush before, and it was never to the extent of Five’s blushes, but this one looked brighter. Interesting. Compliments. Who knew?

Actually that makes sense. Will is probably the most humble person Five has ever met. Maybe aside from Vanya. Now that he thought about it, Will and Vanya were basically the male and female versions of each other. Excluding Vanya’s tendency to be emotional sometimes. That was linked to her powers so Five didn’t count it in. Five’s almost surprised that he and Vanya didn’t have a weird incest thing like Allison and Luther once had. (Eventually they realized how weird it was, and called it off. Thank God.) Then again, maybe that’s why it never happened. Because Five and Vanya were _smart_. No offense to the other two…

Basically, Vanya reacts in a similar way when she’s complimented. She didn’t ever really get them… ever… so when she _does_ get them, she doesn’t know how to accept it. It’d appear to be the same with Will. He merely shrugged and suddenly looked shy. A contrast to the somewhat confident boy from a few minutes ago. It was cute though. It might look odd to someone else, what with Will’s dark black eyes, and pink face. But Five always loved to see Will’s blushes. It didn’t happen very often.

Five soon realized though that he wasn’t getting any cooler. Despite the cold he felt from Will, it wasn’t doing anything. That was strange. He really did feel sick now. He wasn’t sick to the stomach, but just… _sick_. He was surprised he was still thinking clearly. Will looked as though he was realizing this too. That it wasn’t working.

“No… no, no. It’s not working. Shit!”

Will didn’t swear that often either. Not unless the situation really called for it. That alone made Five worry.

“W-Will…” Five tried to speak but he started coughing up a storm. Fuck that hurt. Will’s power helped a little, but it still hurt. What kind of cold came on this fast? This wasn’t normal. Fuck.

“I need help. Mom, Grace or Pogo? One of them would probably know something. Maybe?” Will said. Five was feeling very dizzy now. Like when someone got heatstroke. Fuck. The three adults were probably downstairs. Five didn’t want Will to leave. It was selfish, but he worried about what would happen if Will stopped producing freezing cold darkness. Will looked at the door, and Five grabbed his arm. Will quickly looked at him and he shook his head.

“Stay.” he croaked out. He couldn’t talk any more than that. His throat hurt like a bitch. Will’s expression softened and he made himself more comfortable. He laid down and moved Five gently so that he was sitting on his lap. Five would be embarrassed at the position, but he knew what Will was doing. He could turn his body into an air conditioner. The room got much darker, but neither of them cared. Will wrapped his arms around Five, and brought one hand up to stroke his cheek. Five pressed into Will, relishing in the cold.

“I’m not leaving you. We do need help though. I wonder…” Will was getting an idea, but Five couldn’t ask what it was. He was getting exhausted. It was like the life was draining out of him. He tried to focus on Will and what he was doing, but it was pretty damn hard. He felt something press against his head, and realized that Will must have kissed him. Five had slouched over slightly and was resting his head against Will’s chest and shoulder. He concentrated on the pulse in Will’s neck to distract himself. It was quick, faster than it should be, but that was expected.

“Five? You awake still?” Will’s soft voice brought him back. Apparently he’d closed his eyes. Well, he was tired. Can’t really blame him for that. But then again, this wasn’t an ordinary cold. He could just _feel_ that something was different about it. He just didn’t know what. “Five?”

Oh right, he should reply. He groaned out a “mm hm.” Five tried to blink his eyes open, but he really couldn’t keep them open. Even that was too much.

“Ti… tired.” he sighed.

“I know. It’s hard to stay awake, but please try. I don’t know what will happen if you don’t.”

* * *

Will kept his eyes on Five. It all happened so quickly. Five had seemed fine just a few seconds ago. Completely fine. A little flustered maybe, but fine. Will brushed some hair away from Five’s face. His genius was having a hard time keeping himself awake. His genius. Will started calling Five ‘his’ in his head quite a while ago. Since he realized that Five might be like him. That he likes boys. After getting to know him, there was a greater chance of it as Five had talked about very briefly, not having had the chance to figure anything out about himself. Will knew he was speaking in general terms, but technically it had to include sexuality too right? When would Five have had the chance to figure _that one_ out? Will still didn’t know if he had, but his suspicions had been proved correct. Thank God for that. Will had been super nervous asking him that. He was so sure, but he was still nervous. There had been a tiny chance that he’d been wrong the whole time. But he wasn’t. Five admitted it, in a nervous stutter. His face became a bright red, and it’d spread down his neck and to his ears. He loved it when Five blushed. Will figured out how to make it happen.  


It would appear at small touches, and intimate moments. Or if Five became embarrassed at having been caught staring. Will always knew he was doing it. Even if Five didn’t. The blush would always be bright and very noticeable. The size would vary, but the shade would remain the same. Bright red. It was as though Five had no control over it at all. Well, he was isolated for years, and had learned to hide everything. Just not romantic feelings because it was never a necessity to learn it. He always looked so cute, even if it was awkward for him.

Will managed to learn a lot about him in the span of at least six days. He wanted to learn everything about him and his family. The superheroes. He came to love each of them. Even Luther despite his annoying habit of being a dick with no brain. But they knew how to deal with it. Will’s dealt with enough bullies to know. He’s no longer afraid of human bullies. Not after the Upside Down. Nothing would top that.

Unless the Devil was real maybe. Or… huh, was the Mind Flare the Devil? Eh, maybe not. They’re more alien than supernatural.

Five groaned quietly in his arms. Will hugged him closer, and tried to keep him awake. He was terrified of what could happen if he fell asleep. What if he never woke up? What if this was the Upside Down? It happened just after he’d burned those freaking scorpions. What if the Mind Flare had a plan with this? Was it still using Will in a way? He hadn’t felt anything from it since being possessed. There was nothing like that in him. If Five’s fever was a part of the Upside Down… that’d be strange. The Mind Flare and its followers loved the _cold_. Five was burning up and was becoming a human heater. He was sweating buckets too which wasn’t pleasant. Will put up with being soaked though. It was Five. He’d do anything for him.

“Five, please? A little longer. Hold on. Help is coming.” Will lifted Five’s head up just a little. He rested it in the crook between his neck and shoulder. A few seconds ago, he’d used his darkness and created a shadow version of himself. That was new too, he was super glad it worked. He sent the other him to get the adults. It couldn’t speak unfortunately, but hopefully they’d get the message.

“Will, honey? What’s- Oh God.” Joyce had come in first, and instantly saw Five’s sickly body. The shadow him nodded towards him and disappeared.

“He’s basically on fire. I’m trying to keep him cool, but it’s not working. This isn’t a normal fever. It’s way too hot and it happened too quickly. W-What if it’s the Upside Down? What if-”

“Hey, hey. Take it easy.” Joyce came over and sat down on the bed in front of Five. She put a comforting hand on Will’s shoulder. He took a few deep breaths to calm down. He couldn’t get worked up.

“We’ll figure this out. We always do. He’ll be okay.” Joyce said. “Grace is helping Pogo get some stuff for Five. He’ll be okay.” Will nodded as he tried to calm himself down. He couldn’t lose Five. Not now, not ever. He angled them better so Five was laying on top of him. Will spread his legs so that one was on either side of him. He needed to stay with Five, but the adults also needed to actually see him. But he still had Five in his arms. He wouldn’t change that for anything. Even if they had to look at his back or something for some reason. He’d just carefully flip him over, but not move himself. Five needed him.

“Honey… um… I’m not really sure how else to say this. So, I’m just gonna say it. To me, it doesn’t matter who you love. So long as they’re a good person, and they love you, and you’re both happy, that’s all that matters. Five is a remarkable person. I don’t think there’s anyone better to love.” Joyce said, smiling. She cupped the side of his cheek and wiped away some tears that had fallen. Will couldn’t hold them back any longer. Despite the tears he still smiled. She accepted him! He’d been scared to tell her. But of course she always knew. Jonathan probably did too, now that he thought about it. Will kind of knew that they would probably accept him, but he was still scared anyway. He figured it was because of his father.

She also accepted that he’d fallen for Five. Five. He may act like he was superior most of the time. He was sometimes rude, but also sometimes apologized for it. He was trying to be a better person. For him it was just harder. But he really was a caring person. He loved his family. He loved Will. He always put the ones he loved first. He never cared much about what happened to him. Going as far as hiding injuries, or emotions. Well he surprisingly couldn’t hide his love for Will. It’d always been obvious. It’s why he’d as confident as he was. He was still kind of nervous, he hadn’t officially confirmed it until tonight. When they both confessed. His heart soared. Five _did_ love him. Or at least, had a crush. Will was also his first. For some reason that just made him happier. Five was also Will’s first strong love. He’d had a couple of crushes before, but nothing was quite this strong. He’d bonded so fast with Five. The feelings came just as quickly. It’s like this was why the Hargreeves family had come to this world in the first place. It’s like the universe knew this would happen. Will decided that was one of the reasons for them coming. The other being that the Upside Down was apparently still around and able to get through.

“So…” Joyce smiled. “Does he like you back?” She had this knowing look in her eyes. Will chuckled. Obviously she would also know about it. It almost seemed like Five didn’t even try to hide it. But then, he probably didn’t know how given his past and the fact that this was his first crush.

“Yeah. We um, told each other tonight, just before… this.” Will looked down at Five and brought him closer. “I hope this isn’t the Upside Down. I can’t lose him. Especially not to that place.”

“And you won’t. Not while I’m alive. The Mind Flare will never take my family away, or anyone else as long as I live.”

Grace and Pogo came back with some supplies, for fevers. Pogo frowned deeply. He took a few steps closer to Five.

“You’re right. This is no ordinary fever. But unfortunately I’m not sure what it’s related to, if it’s the Upside Down, or something else entirely. Come to think of it, Five has never been sick before. Not even a small cold. He’s never even had allergies. For this to happen… hm. Grace do you recall Reginald saying anything about sickness?”

Grace replied instantly. Will sometimes forgot she was a robot. Despite the stitches in her arm that never healed for that reason. “He said that their powers helped their immune system. That they had it automatically blocked anything that could harm it. They don’t exactly have a healing factor like superheroes in fiction. But they have that. He’d said that for them to get sick, it’d have to be related to their power. Ben had gotten sick once. It was almost deadly. But it was because the creatures inside him were ill. They’d contracted something from one of the people they killed. Ben’s power couldn’t fight it off for a while. Perhaps a similar thing is happening to Five. Had anything happened recently? Had anything possibly infected his power?” Graced was asking Will directly.

There had been something.

“Yeah. When him and Luther had gone in the forest and saw one of those things. When they came back, Five was terrified. He’d told me that the thing had him in a weird trance. That he had been frozen to the spot until Luther punched him. Maybe something happened when he was frozen. Like somehow… the poison got into his system. Now it’s affecting him. But that was a few days ago now.”

“It is possible that it had taken a while for it to activate. Perhaps having those creatures closer to him again is what did it. We need some kind of antidote for the poison.” Pogo said. “But for that, we need to learn more about it unfortunately.”

“W-Will.” Five’s voice was very rough. But he was still awake. Well, hopefully. His eyes were still closed.

“I’m here. You’re not alone.” Will said softly.

“W-Water.”

Grace quickly left the room to get some. Will wondered if it would even do anything. For now all they could do was wait. They had no other information about the Upside Down and its poison. Grace came back with a small glass of water. Will tilted Five’s head upwards and opened his mouth as Grace gave him the water. Nothing really happened after that. Five stayed quiet. Barely moving. It was going to be a long night.

After a few hours, it was nearly midnight. Will yawned. He was getting tired. But he can’t quit. Not when Five needed him.

The adults had left, but Grace was nearby in case Five needed someone, or some more water. She waited patiently in Joyce’s room.

“W-Will.”

“Five?”

“Re-est.”

Will smiled. Even when he was ill, Five put others first.

“Rest.”

Five’s hand twitched as he tried to move it. Will moved his hand instead and placed it on top. He linked their fingers together and placed a kiss on Five’s hair. He couldn’t go to sleep. Not yet.

“Don’t worry about me love. I’ll be fine.”

“Love…” Five’s voice was quiet. There was almost a questioning tone to it. Will smiled. He dragged his other hand over to Five’s heart.

“Yes. Love. I-I love you.” Will smiled widely. He had no idea if Five would remember this conversation. He didn’t even know how awake Five actually was. But either way, Will would always remember this. He had enough memory for both of them.

“Love.” Five sounded content. Happy even. Despite the horrible state he was in. Will felt his heart beat speed up and smiled. He felt content, despite his worry.

_Knock, knock, knock._

“Come in.”

Mike poked his head through the door way, but didn’t fully enter. Like he still needed to make things right. He only did so when Will nodded.

“Can we talk?” Mike asked quietly.

“Yeah. You can sit if you want.”

Mike hesitantly sat down at the end of the bed. Will instinctively pulled Five closer. Despite the other two making up, things were still slightly awkward.

“I just…” Mike paused. “I realized I never apologized to you directly. I’m sorry Will. I shouldn’t have done any of that. I… felt like I was losing you. I know I wasn’t, I just couldn’t help it. It was always you and me. Then Five comes along, and it seems like you’re spending all your time with him. I know you’re not. You wouldn’t do that. I was just missing you. I’m just… I’m sorry. For being a crap friend. And, just for the record. It doesn’t matter to me who you want to be with. I know you care about him, and he cares about you. A lot.” Mike chuckled at that last bit, and Will smiled. Yeah. Everyone knew. “Just know that I’d never hate you guys for that. If I ever get mad at something, it’s never going to be that. It’s probably the same with everyone else. And… to be honest, I think you’re both good for each other. You bring out the best in Five. And he brings out the best in you. I am happy for you.”

Will felt like crying again. These people were going to dry him out sooner or later. Mike looked concerned.

“You okay? I didn’t…”

“No, no. I’m not upset with you Mike, I’m happy. Uh, well, for the most part.” Will glanced down at Five. He’d been quiet for a long time now. Will wondered if he fell asleep. Mike relaxed a little and looked at Five as well. He frowned.

“Think he’ll be okay? Joyce told us what had happened. That it might be the Upside Down. It’s the poison somehow?”

“Yeah maybe. It’s what makes sense the moment. He’s been on fire since around eight. I’ve been trying to cool him off but it’s not working.

Mike frowned as he watched Will bring Five even closer. His dark eyes closed as he let out a shaky breath. They really did love each other. Mike wasn’t lying when he said he was happy for him. Will deserved to be happy. Seeing him in pain hurt. Mike couldn’t bear to imagine the image of Jane ill like that. Well, or anyone really. Five was hard to look at, even if they hadn’t exactly gotten along. He knew that deep down Five was a good person. He just had some issues, like everyone else. He knew about the PTSD and anxiety. Sometimes he could see it happening. He saw it in Klaus too, but he didn’t know why Klaus had it. The boy hadn’t said much about his past. Granted, he didn’t know much about Five either. Only Will did. Mike knew that because they loved each other they told the other things they haven’t told anyone else. That’s how love worked. It made you trust that special person more than anyone or anything in the world. Besides, the Upside Down can eat shit for all Mike cares. Not even Five deserves to be taken by it, even if he was a dick.

Suddenly something Will had said stuck out.

Five was _on fire_.

“Fire…” he mumbled.

“Huh?” Will said, looking up.

“It’s just… you said Five is on fire. The Upside Down likes the _cold_. It just doesn’t make sense. When you were possessed, you kept wanting the cold. Not heat. That’s how we purged it out. With heaters. So if this is the poison from the Upside Down, why is Five burning?”

They were silent for a while before Will spoke.

He came to a big realization.

“The Upside Down didn’t want cold… The _Mind Flare_ did. The Upside Down isn’t the Mind Flare, it’s the world. Those scorpions are different. New. The Mind Flare needs the cold. It… It’s using _Five._ The Mind Flare is the poison. Somehow it figured out a way to heat him up. We’ll probably never know how, but it almost doesn’t matter. It knew we would try to cool him down. Bring _it_ cold. The poison isn’t going away because the cold is helping it. Spreading it. Fuck!” Will said. Mike blinked in surprise at the swear word. He swore himself in surprise. It wasn’t everyday Will Byers swore.

The darkness disappeared around them. Cold wasn’t helping Five. It was helping _him_. Did it know about Will’s powers? Is that why? He knew Will would be strong enough to give it the cold it needed to survive? Fuck… Well, jokes on it.

He figured it out.

Will’s eyes turned gold as did the aura around him. The whole room lit up. He focused his energy on bringing _his_ warmth to Five. Five hissed and squirmed, but Will held him in place.

“I’m sorry about this Five, I know it hurts. Just trust me.” Will mumbled quietly. Five’s body seized up and Will started seeing his veins turn darker. It was working! It really had been the Upside Down! He brought on more heat. He hated seeing Five in pain, but he knew it was really the Mind Flare that was in pain. It was using his Five as some type of life source. Will must have hurt it somehow when he burned the scorpions alive.

A strange steam started come off of Five’s skin. His skin was red, like he’d been sunburned. Will knew this was hurting a lot, but it had to be done. It was _working_. He could see the poison trying leaving the body. He hugged Five closer. He hissed in pain, but Will didn’t let go.

Suddenly the steam shot out in a straight line and turned pitch black. The poison. It’d shot out of Five’s body and out the window. Even though it was closed… What was it then? Poisoned darkness? It that how it got in? When Will tracked the scorpions? They’ll have to speculate later.

Five instantly calmed down as soon as the thing left his body. He started cooling down to a normal human temperature. His skin was going back to normal too. Will let out a sigh of relief and turned down the light. He didn’t turn it off, just dimmed it. He realized that Mike was shielding his eyes. The boy lowered his hands as the light dimmed.

“Sorry Mike. I didn’t realize.”

“Nah it’s cool. That was awesome. How’s Five?” Mike sat back down on the bed.

Five looked almost back to normal. He was still breathing, so he was alive. Thank God. He sighed in relief and hugged him tightly. His Five was alright. The boy moved in his arms and groaned.

“Will?” his voice was only quiet now. It sounded normal. Mike bid him goodnight and left to his own bed.

“I’m still here. You’re safe now. It’s gone. I got it.” That felt fucking good to say. He smiled widely. “I got it.”

“Hurt like a bitch y’know.”

“I know. Sorry about that.” Will smiled though. He felt so much happier.

“The Mind Flare hurt. Not you. Never you.” Five slowly blinked his eyes open and turned slightly to look at him. He smiled and Will’s heart leaped. “Your heat is…” Five shrugged trying to find the word, “Strength. It heals. Healed me. You single-handedly saved my life Will. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met.” Five’s stare of awe made Will’s own face heat up. But thankfully it was only a blush and nothing more.

“Mike helped. It wasn’t all me.” Will said quickly. Five smirked and shrugged. Shit.

“You did most of the work. And you thought of the solution. Figured out more about your powers. They can heal. You _are_ amazing Will.”

They stared at each other for a few seconds as Will’s blush darkened. Then Will smirked.

“I love you too Five.”

Five blinked in surprise. His mouth hung open a bit. The realization appeared on his face and Will smiled widely. He remembered their little chat. Five’s face turned red again, but this time it was a good thing. He slumped slightly, but leaned into Will. They settled down for the night. They really needed sleep.

“Jerk.” Five mumbled. Will snickered and pulled him closer to his body. Five rested his head against his chest and Will had never been more comfortable. There was a bit of silence as they started to fall into slumber. Will was so tired he almost missed the way Five grew tense.

“I love you.” Five whispered. Will smiled and kissed his hair. He was sure Five was blushing again but he was too comfortable to move.

“I love you too.”

Five relaxed and soon the two fell into a deep sleep.

They were going to need it for the future days ahead. More was learned about the Mind Flare. Will killed some of its soldiers. They had to prepare for the battle ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, this isn't the end of the story. Think of it as a part one. It'll all just be one story though, one book. It ain't over! It's longer than I originally planned lol.
> 
> Hey, they haven't even kissed yet. You think I'd leave that little detail out?


	10. It Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five isn't getting used to the new house, the gang takes a trip, Will's more confident than ever, but the day isn't all fun and laughs... rats... Five can't catch a break can he?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit of a time jump forward about a week. Just so you know, in case you're confused.

Things were fairly normal after that night. Five was better the next day, and woke up in Will’s arms. He’s never felt better. He still didn’t know how to control his feelings around Will, but he grew to accept it after they’d both confessed. He still couldn’t get over the fact that Will loved him. Over the next week, Five realized that his crush had already grown into love as well. It was both amazing and terrifying. The feelings were so strong it scared him. He almost became obsessed with Will. He was always on his mind, and for a while he couldn’t sleep without him at his side. Now he could be in Will’s arms whenever he wanted. It felt nice to have someone look out for him for once. Not that he didn’t have that, be knew his family did. It just felt more personal with Will, for obvious reasons. He’d never admit it to anyone else, but he loved it when Will wrapped his arms around him in a protective manner. He just felt so safe. Once in a while Will had to remind him that it was okay to want certain things, and that it didn’t make him weak. A side effect of having Reginald as a father, as well as working for the Commission.

Though the only down side was that he was relentlessly teased by his siblings. Even Vanya every now and then. Though she was more kind about it than the others. They constantly smirked whenever Five stared at Will. But he could do it now without feeling as embarrassed as before. He still blushed when Will caught him and smirked though. Then his brothers would tease him. Allison was also nicer about it. Vanya was probably rubbing off on her, they’d been really getting to know each other better now. Having girl time and whatnot. Five was happy for them. They got the sister bond they always should have had.

He and Will haven’t exactly gone on proper dates yet. Five didn’t want Will to get harassed. He’d mentioned that he already got bullied a bit at school. Five wanted to kill those guys. As well as his father Lonnie. He knew it’d only get him into trouble though and refrained from doing so. Plus Will told him not to do it. He still had a problem with saying no to him. It’s like a spell had been put on him. What they did instead of dates, was just spend some time alone together. He loved those moments.

He loved _Will_. God… he was in love. He honestly never thought it’d happen, but yet, here he is. In love. He’d never been happier.

They still haven’t kissed though. Five figured it was because neither of them have done it before and were nervous. Five got nervous anyway, not that he’d ever admit it out loud. He didn’t know _how_ to kiss. It’s not like he’d ever been taught. He’d never had a reason to do it until now. His heart sped up nervously the thought of kissing Will. Would Five be any good at it? What if he was a horrible kisser? He couldn’t dwell on ‘what if’ though. They were going to do it at some point. Maybe he could ask Allison… no. Nope. Too embarrassing.

He wished Will was with him.

Grace and Pogo finally found a house for them. Grace managed to get a job with Hopper, working as Jane’s teacher, and housekeeping. She also cleaned the police office after hours once a week. Hopper paid her really well, which was nice of him.

But Five kind of hated it. Only because he couldn’t see Will sleeping beside him. Couldn’t see him wake up. Couldn’t see him during breakfast. Couldn’t see him at night. Unless he jumped. He’s actually done that each night. Jumped to Will’s room, stayed the night, and jumped back before anyone noticed. Will didn’t mind. Enjoyed it even. They both slept better in the other’s company. They loved seeing each other almost every second each day and night.

Five sighed as he laid in his new bed. Currently it was five am, and he’d just jumped back. He already missed Will. It was pathetic really. He was going to see him in a couple of hours. Spend the entire day together. He just couldn’t accept _not_ being with him.

God love was stupid.

 _Knock, knock, knock_.

“What?” Five sighed. He was not in the mood for any ridiculousness. He looked up to see the door open and reveal Ben and Klaus. Those two still practically spent every second together. Where there was one, the other was only a few steps behind. Or less. Five went back to staring at the ceiling. He had better things to do. Like think about Will.

“Dude you look like Ben died again. Ow! Just saying.” Klaus commented. Ben pinched his arm. “What’s wrong buddy?”

“Nothing. I’m fine. Please leave now.”

“Hm. Yeah. Nope. Our brother is sulking in despair and needs to learn that he’s not alone anymore.”

Five sighed for about the fourth time in the past hour. He was not in the mood for this. He’d rather sulk alone.

“It’s _nothing_.” Five hissed.

“This is about Will right? The new house? I mean, we’re still getting used to it. So you miss him. That’s normal.” Ben said, completely ignoring his claim. Five closed his eyes. He didn’t want this. Not now. Not ever. He didn’t talk about his feelings. Well… maybe he did with Will sometimes. But he’s the exception. He always is… it’s Will. He felt his two brothers sit down on the bed. They were not leaving any time soon it would seem. Damn it.

“Correct me if I’m wrong Ben, but didn’t he just see Will?” Klaus asked.

“They see each other every day.”

“Yeah. My point. I mean he was just over there literally a few minutes ago. Like usual. He always spends the night with him.”

Five opened his eyes and stared at Klaus. He shrugged.

“I hate to break to ya, but your jumps aren’t exactly silent.”

Oh. Yeah. They aren’t. They’re quiet, but not completely silent. Fuck. They all probably know if Klaus knows. Fuck. He turned over onto his left side to avoid looking at his brothers. He couldn’t help but feel weak, no matter how many times Will told him he wasn’t. Old habits die hard. This was an incredibly old one.

“It’s okay to miss the one you love. Even if you just saw him. That’s what love does.” Ben said.

“So it’s murderous.” Five said. His voice held no emotion. His face and heart said otherwise.

“Uh, not exactly what I meant.”

“No, no. He’s right. Love takes your heart, blows it up and pops it into a million pieces beyond repair.” Klaus said. Five spared a glance towards him. That’s right. Dave. Five had almost forgotten about that. If anyone knows real love, it’s Klaus. Ben put a hand on his shoulder as Klaus sighed. Five looked away as he pondered whether or not to ask the question in his mind. Finally he sat up a little, but still didn’t quite look his brother in the eyes.

“How did you handle it? Being…” he sighed. “Being in love?” His voice was barely above a whisper when he said it. He hadn’t exactly told his siblings he was fucking in love. But then again, considering past events, they probably already knew. Klaus regarded him with a curious look laced with understanding. He sighed. Five frowned. Not the answer Five was looking for.

“Who says I did at all?”

Good point. Klaus probably went through with drawls as well during that time.

“My point is love is hard. You always miss them even if you were literally just with them. Happens to everyone, and it’s _okay_. I’m sure you’ll figure things out eventually. Find a way around it. Loop holes. I’ve got mine. Dave’s been here with us the whole time.”

“Wait. What? He has?” Five stared at him. How did that make sense?

“I don’t know how honestly. Just, he showed up one day. As a kid by the way. Like us. It’s not a hallucination, I swear. I’ve been sober for… uh, well, days before we got to this world. Anyway, I’m saying you’ll find your own loop hole. Find a way to still be with him without _actually_ being at his house twenty-four-seven. I mean you probably won’t be able to jump there each night all the time. Like what if he and his family go away for the weekend?”

Fuck. Five never thought of that. That’d be horrible. Five would be stuck alone… okay _technically_ he wouldn’t be alone. But still. He’d be without Will. God damn it.

“Not that he will any time soon! I’m just… future stuff. Far away future stuff.” Klaus said quickly, seeing his brother’s sad eyes. Five had tried to hide it as always, but sometimes his eyes betray him.

“I get it. I just hate this.” Five brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them.

“No you don’t.” Klaus smirked.

“Shut up.”

“My stick-in-the-mud- grade A asshole grandpa of a brother is in love. I will never shut up about it.”

Five groaned.

* * *

The next couple of hours were spent trying to figure out the equation for being with Will, without actually being with him. He came up with nothing. Every answer was zero, not real, or just wrong. Five scowled at the note book on his desk. The first three pages had been filled with these equations. Maybe traveling here messed with his mind. Traveling to the future did. He nearly called it quits, and only hadn’t because Klaus was back at his door.

“What?”

“I was just wondering when you were going over to Will’s.” Klaus looked innocent, but Five knew he wasn’t. He narrowed his eyes.

“Nine. Why?”

“It’s nine oh five.”

“Fuck!”

Five was _never_ late. What the hell?!

“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me five minutes ago?!”

“I got distracted and forgot.”

“Fucking- typical.”

With that said and done, Klaus smirked as Five jumped to Will’s place. He landed with a soft thud, by his desk. Will nearly jumped out of his skin, and promptly dropped the coloured pencil he’d been using. Apparently he had just been doing some art at his desk. Probably waiting for him to show up. Fuck.

“I’m sorry!”

“Five, hey. How- wait. What? Why are you sorry?” Will cut himself off and immediately looked concerned. Five frowned. Did Will not realize he was late? He swallowed.

“I… I’m late. It’s after nine…” Five’s voice was quiet and confused. Will’s face changed from concern to immediate understanding. He stood up and pulled Five in for a warm hug. Five cursed himself for melting right away. He just would never turn away from one of Will’s hugs. They were always so warm and comforting. Will was warmth and comfort. All the nervousness evaporated at the touch. Five buried his face in Will’s neck, a small habit he’d picked up along the way. They stayed like that for a while, Five doesn’t know how long but he didn’t care. He was finally with Will again. Everything was aligning again, and normal. Calm. Comforting. Loving. Will gave a small kiss on his forehead as they parted. Five’s cheeks grew warm as Will placed a loving hand on the side of his face. He leaned into the touch automatically.

“Don’t worry about set times. It’s okay. You’re my boyfriend, and I love you no matter what.” Will said.

Five smiled. Boyfriend. It was still hard to get used to it. He didn’t know what his sexuality was, but he didn’t really care. He loved Will and that’s what mattered the most. Things were going fairly well for them. Aside from the Upside Down shit. So far though nothing has happened since Five’s illness, and Will destroying the scorpions. No other creatures showed up. Yet. Just because they’ve been quiet, doesn’t mean they won’t strike. They will eventually.

Will was actually really strong now. Well, he’d always been strong, but he was even stronger now that he’d gained more knowledge of his abilities. He could do quite a bit with light and darkness. He’s figured out how to control the aura around him so he could dim it in case he had to use his gifts in public. His eyes remained the same though. They changed to either black or gold depending on the power being used. But Five always found them beautiful.

Five nodded, the smile still on his face. His face grew warmer as Will leaned in and kissed his cheek. His soft lips barely grazing the skin. He craved more. He always craved it. He’s always wanted a proper kiss, but he’s been too nervous to do anything about it. Maybe… now would be the time to-

“Boys, start getting ready! We’re meeting everyone there at nine-thirty.” Joyce called from the bottom of the stairs.

Oh, yeah… that’s right. The group was going to have ‘fun’ at the local pool. Pools wasn’t exactly Five’s idea of fun. He didn’t like staying wet for so long. He’d do it for showers, but other than that- nope. It’s not like he was afraid. He was an okay swimmer. It just wasn’t really a necessary thing for him to do usually. Plus the Hargreeves never exactly spent time at pools or beaches. At least not for leisure time. If they were there it was for a mission.

Once Five had gotten thrown into a pool after stabbing a bad guy. His friend decided it was bath time for him. Reginald had scolded him for letting himself be taken out like that. And for ruining that particular uniform. He had others, of course. A closet full. But dad never liked any of them getting ruined. Not one. They were specially made to suit them and their powers. Special ingredients were implemented in the fabrics of each of them. Five never learned what they were, or what they did. But he did learn to never get _his_ uniforms wet. At least not with chlorine. His uniform shrunk quite a bit. It was quite uncomfortable in… certain areas. Actually, it was more painful than uncomfortable. Luckily the bad guys were dead before they could see the change. His brothers, minus Ben, kept teasing him about the incident for the next few weeks after. He had looked ridiculous. His dress shirt had been reduced to about half its size. The pants- well he feared that he’d be permanently injured. That day Reginald stopped him from going in for interviews at the end of the event. He was actually thankful for that one. It would have been humiliating. Mom had to cut the uniform off him. It seemed that whenever Five set foot near a body of water, pool or not, something would always happen to him. Usually it was just embarrassing, and he’d be teased for weeks. Sometimes it was enemies.

He had almost drowned in a river once. It was a training session that had to do with water. Reginald did this type of thing so they were ready for any situation. Water was no exception. His foot got caught in some reeds when he was going to the surface. It was terrifying. Vanya was the one to save him, realizing he wasn’t up yet like the others. He ended up losing air, just before she got to him. He doesn’t actually remember being pulled to the surface. But he does remember being scolded for nearly dying. He remembers Vanya being scolded for interfering with their training. He wasn’t exactly afraid of _drowning,_ it was more of a fear of the terrible things that could go wrong.

So yeah he wasn’t exactly _fond_ of water. It always brought up some type of bad or embarrassing memory. This particular memory was probably going to be brought up. Fuck.

“You sure you don’t wanna swim with us?”

“Yes. I’m very sure. I am okay with sitting on the side.”

“Why though? You mentioned you know how to swim…”

“Yeah…” Five shrugged as Will started packing a small backpack. He sat down on the bed and felt awkward. He hadn’t exactly explained his relationship with water to Will yet. He hadn’t had a reason to do so. Now was most likely the time for it… ugh. Five’s face became warm with embarrassment. He looked down, and saw Will pause his packing. Will put down his backpack and sat beside Five on the bed. Five took in a deep breath and let it out.

“Me and water don’t exactly get along well. I’m not afraid of it really, just…” Five groaned. “Something always seems to happen to me whenever I’m at a pool, or lake, or river… It’s not usually life threatening just… not good.” God his face felt really hot with embarrassment. Way too many of the memories were just embarrassing. Will wrapped his arm around his waist. He felt a _little_ better just by that alone. He still didn’t want to tell him anything.

“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you. In fact, I’ll stay with you. Keep you company.”

“What? No, you don’t-”

“Five, it’s fine. I don’t mind. I love being with you. And I want you to be happy and have fun. If that means sitting with you on the sidelines, I’ll do it.”

“But-”

“No buts. I want to be with you, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Five’s shoulders slumped, but he gave a small smile. Will is going to be the death of him. His face was still really hot though. Damn memories. There was no avoiding the fact that a few of them will probably get talked about. The others would have to know why Five isn’t joining in on the fun. Or they would be curious and his siblings would explain. There was a moment of silence as they sat there on the bed. Five had rested his head on Will’s shoulder. Will rested his own head on top of Five’s. He felt better. He was still dreading the pool, but he felt better than earlier.

“You ever gonna tell me about-”

“Nope.”

Will huffed in annoyance. Five closed his eyes.

“I _can_ say that, well, some stories _might_ be brought up. I’m pretty sure my siblings will take every opportunity to make fun of me.”

Will hugged him closer, but Five knew he was smiling widely. Maybe someday Five would tell him. _Maybe_. Some were better left unsaid though. Will gave him a small kiss on his hair, and went back to packing for the trip. Five already missed his warmth. Fuck. He was so screwed if he ever went away for the weekend. He just hoped it didn’t happen any time soon.

Five followed him down the stairs, and realized that both Joyce and Jonathan didn’t seem surprised that he was here. They smiled at him as a welcome, and he gave a small one back, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Fuck. Everyone knew didn’t they? His face grew warm at the thought. He stepped closer to Will for a little comfort. It helped. A little.

“Everyone ready? I just called Grace and Nancy. Let’s head out!” Joyce led the way and Jonathan followed her.

Five hesitated. He’d rather stay behind. He knew he wasn’t going to though. Especially not after Will grabbed his hand and held it, lacing their fingers together. He unwillingly followed Will, into the car. Will kept his hand there the entire drive to the pool. Five hesitated to get out. Will leaned over and kissed his cheek, making his face heat up. He smiled though. Will always knew what to do when it came to him.

Once the two were out of the car, Five realized that the others were there as well, chatting away. Grace looked excited to be here, at first glance, she really did look like any other human. She’d managed to cover up her stitches with a long sleeved light weight shirt. Joyce had bought it for her apparently as a gift. These days, Five couldn’t help but notice that Grace looked more and more human every day. Mostly in her expressions. They seemed more genuine.

Pogo had stayed behind at the house, given that this world would probably lock him away instantly and do research on him. Plus swimming wasn’t his thing. Five felt bad for Pogo, he stayed in most of the time. Like mom had. Five wondered if there would ever be a day when he could just go out and not worry.

Five followed the others into the building. They all got wrist bands, allowing them in and out of the pool. While he _had_ worn swim trunks, he planned on not swimming. He planned on doing what he planned earlier, sitting on the side. _Not_ having anything happen to him. Given that they hadn’t had to deal with bad guys in this world, Five had calculated that if anything were to happen to him, it’d only be embarrassing. Yeah, he wasn’t looking forward to this. His stomach twisted with nerves and he moved closer to Will as they entered the pool area. He knew he and Will couldn’t exactly act as boyfriends here, in public. He wished they could. It make this so much easier on him. Five scanned the area for anything that could be embarrassing. He noted the things, and was going to keep away from them. Water fountains, small children, food, drinks, the _pool-_ ugh. Five even inspected his chair as they sat down at the table. So he didn’t accidentally sit on anything.

“Dude, would you relax?” Luther sighed, watching him.

“Nope.”

“What’s with him? He hate pools?” Lucas asked.

“Basically. Something would always happen to him whenever we set foot in one.” Luther explained.

 _God, here we go._ Five thought as he sat down. He gave Luther a warning look. He only shrugged.

“Yeah, like that one time-”

“Klaus!” Five hissed. Klaus at least had the decency to look sheepish. He knew how much Five despised pools, or bodies of water.

“Okay fine. No stories.”

There was a collective ‘awe’ from the Party. Thank God. Under the table, Will reached over and gently squeezed his hand with a smile on his face. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad. Nope, he couldn’t think like that. _Something_ would definitely happen no matter what.

After the discussion of the plan for the day, the adults went to buy some food, and the other kids instantly hit the water. That left Five alone with Will. He sighed and Will nudged him.

“Remember, I said I’d protect you. Now cheer up. We get to spend the day together.” Will said. Five couldn’t help the smile on his face.

“Alright fine. But I’m not going to get distracted and let my guard down.” Five replied. Will snorted.

“Doesn’t seem like you’re cheering up.”

“How can I? I’m at one of the places I despise the most.”

“With me…”

Five smiled. “With you.”

Things seemed to be fine for a while. Five did equations. Will drew by his side. It took him a while to realize that Will was drawing him again. Five’s face became a little warm. He didn’t think that he was special enough to be drawn. Especially by Will. He would deny thinking any of this though. He was known to be a bit narcissistic. He couldn’t ruin his reputation. Well, maybe he would for Will.

“Hey losers.” said a new voice. Not a kind voice. Will sighed as Five looked over and saw two boys looking far too smug.

“Troy. Brendan.” Will said. He didn’t look at them and continued drawing. Troy snorted.

Ah. _These_ guys. Five clenched his hands into fists and glared. He noted that they weren’t wearing anything related to swimming. Just regular clothes. Why were they even here?

“That’s a nice picture of your _boyfriend_ Byers.”

 _Stay calm._ Five felt rage burn within him. Nobody picked on Will. But he didn’t want to make a scene either.

“Better than you’ll ever do.”

Five blinked and looked at Will who smirked. Looked like Will wasn’t having it today. Maybe Five wouldn’t even have to say anything.

“The hell does that mean Fag?” Troy glared at Will. Five moved to stand, but Will stopped him. Will finally looked at him and shrugged. Troy’s friend, Brendan seemed surprised by Will’s confidence. Good.

“What do you think it means?”

Troy stared at him for a few seconds. Brendan looked confused. Idiots. Troy scoffed.

“Whatever, Zombie Boy. Have fun being _queer_ , freak.” The two bullies started walking away.

“You too!” Will replied. Troy turned around instantly, obviously about to say something mean, but he tripped over a pool noodle lying by his feet. He fell into the pool with a yelp, and a big splash attracting a few looks. The Party looked over as well, and started laughing as soon as they realized who it was. Brendan also started laughing. Troy climbed out of the pool, his clothes soaking wet, and his face a bit red. He noticed the Party laughing in the water, and glared. It wasn’t very menacing. It was hilarious. Troy glared at Brendan too for laughing. Brendan shrugged.

“What? It was funny.” Brendan said.

Troy gave a final glare towards Will and stalked off, Brendan shrugged again and followed him. Will let out a laugh.

“I can’t believe that just happened. Talk about karma.”

“She _is_ a bitch.” Five smiled.

“Hm, who’s a bitch?” Max asked as the Party came back. They were still laughing and smiling.

“Karma. Troy literally just tripped over a pool noodle. He did it to himself.” Will chuckled. The group laughed again as they sat down.

All of a sudden there was a shrilling scream as a woman ran out of the change rooms.

“Rats! Rats!” she was in hysterics.

“Probably just a couple and she’s got a phobia.” Klaus sighed. The others agreed.

More screams filled the air. Fuck. Not everyone has that phobia. The group looked over to see people quickly getting their kids and getting out of there. It was more than a couple rats.

It was an army.

 

TBC…

 

**Author's Note:**

> More chapters to come!  
> Kudos and long comments are greatly welcomed and are good motivators! (Wink, wink!) ;) ;)


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